The Emperor of Her Heart (ByaRuki & IchiRuki)
by NairaRains
Summary: The cold Emperor would've never thought he'd have another wife but he did; she was the Empress, she was his wife, but she wanted another. And what he didn't realize was, she wanted both. ByaRuki/IchiRuki Rated M for Mature Content
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Petals.

Drenched with fresh rain, shimmering with warm colours, soaring on top of the serene waters.

Her private garden was blooming with flowers—hidden and assorted with lush green leaves. Raindrops fell like tears from the morning grey sky—gently sliding down her pale skin and drenching her inky hair. Her figure sat on the cold three-step stairs that lead to a beautiful pond with petals and several lotus floating around.

She sat with a circular tray made out of pure gold, containing petals from _sakura_ trees and other kinds of flowers. The aura was refreshing—rain, flowers, and the pond combined. It calmed her body and slightly made her forget the reason behind this ritual she practiced every morning. A folded letter with ink smudging the sides rested in the middle of the tray, perfectly placed with four-leaf clovers crossed. She stared longingly at the crumbled piece of paper before extending her hand to place the tray in the pond.

It floated on top of the calm water, traveling at its own pace as the early morning rain drowned the letter and petals with its water. She rested her hands on her lap as she stared silently at the departing tray—thinking of all the words written on the letter and how simple but coherent they were. Her violet irises stared at the faded grey sky stained with iris—indicating the start of a new day filled with nothing but rain and tasks to be completed.

Empress Shiba-Auris Rukia, the Head of the Auris Clan and rightfully the Shiba Clan in the absence of an heir. A widowed Empress who ruled independently and valued her country's opinions. With a marriage that lasted for roughly ten years, a palace and society depending on her reign, and the demand of an heir—Empress Shiba-Auris Rukia shunned her own society from their unrealistic values upon women. The death of her husband, Emperor Shiba Kaien seemed to do nothing more but stimulate her spiritually to continue his reign as honorably as she could.

The three years spent without his presence seemed to keep her heart yearning for his miraculous return, even if she knew that he was gone—resting or preferably drowning in an ocean as he had wished. She stood up and silently bidded the tray farewell, before turning around and entering her chambers—soaked with rain, but faintly grinning.

She eyed her reflection in the mirror, noticing the lone leaf with a single raindrop placed in her hair. She observed it silently as the raindrop slid like a tear, prompting memories of her fragile state when the lifeless body of her husband laid in a crate. She instantly dismissed the memories and prepared herself for the arrival of her devoted Lady—Lady Iri.

As predicted, the soft sound knocking at her door was the young ink-haired woman with dusty plum irises—shy, but extremely determined. She bowed her head in respect before walking towards the Empress.

"Good morning, my Lady." Lady Iri said as her eyes softly met her Empress. Rukia smiled at her faithful friend before walking closer to her to shatter the barrier of boundaries.

"Good morning, Lady Iri. Did you sleep well?" Rukia softly asked, earning a reassuring smile and a nod.

"Yes, did you, my Lady?" Lady Iri responded shyly. The Empress only nodded and returned to her dresser in preparation for Lady Iri to arrange her hair in her traditional style. She reached for the brush and handed it to her friend before relaxing her shoulders and allowing her Lady to do the rest.

Her hair was bathed in a thick plum blossom liquid in a wooden barrel—nourishing her hair and leaving a sweet fragrance to linger. The back of her neck shivered in reaction to the droplets of water that came from the tips of her dark hair.

She savored the fresh aura of rain that was still left on her skin—treasuring it before the plum blossom perfume erased it. She stared into the mirror—watching her hair being pulled to the back with a few tendrils framing her face. The silky silhouettes that fringed her face were then encircled by a crafted gold hairpiece—given to her by her father.

As the remaining plain strands were moved out of her face and placed accordingly, the gold pendant that forged a crescent moon and a blaring sun was outlined with white, shimmered. The faint light wasn't powerful, but the very essence of it was strong enough to make the pendant glimmer. It was gift—something given to her by someone she treasured deeply. Someone who was able to reflect light off the shattered glass pieces of her heart. It was the epitome of beauty, itself. Something she never took off since the day it was placed.

As her slender fingers fiddled with the necklace, she noticed that her hair was done.

Her hair was clipped on the back, embellished with beautiful hair pieces that were dark purple and gold—perfectly placed, but heavy in weight. Long strands of her inky hair framed the sides of her face, along with a single strand that parted between her eyes. The discoloured sections of her face were now balanced with her fair tone and her dreary eyes were now vibrant with its violet shade. From a yearning and passive wife, she turned into the strong and beautiful Empress her subjects knew.

Lady Iri stared at the beauty of her Empress in awe—jealous of her grace and her kind heart. The Empress was truly a masterpiece, with or without the lavish jewelry gifting her figure. The Empress turned away from the mirror and grinned at her Lady.

"Thank you." She kindly said as she got up. Lady Iri bowed and began to clean the mess she had made of scattered jewelry pieces on her Lady's dresser. As she cleaned the mess, another knock was heard—Lady Rangiku and Lady Nanao entered their Empress' room, indulged in their own conversation before taking notice of Lady Iri.

"Lady Iri! I didn't think you were here yet!" Lady Rangiku spoke with her spirited voice before hugging the young woman with long black hair. Lady Nanao used her index finger to push her glasses further up her nose before speaking.

"Lady Rangiku, don't be so loud—Empress Rukia likes silence in the morning." Lady Nanao reminded as a stack of papers rested between the space of her chest and arms.

"Empress Rukia is awake." Lady Rangiku reminded as she headed towards the Empress' walk-in closet, containing _kimonos_ , _yukatas_ , and jewelry.

"Yes, but still. You shouldn't speak so loudly when it's so early in the morning, plus you might wake u -"

"Which one looks better? The purple one or the blue one?" Lady Rangiku asked Lady Iri with two kimonos in her hands—displaying them to her fellow Lady to choose for their Empress who had temporarily disappeared.

"Are you even listening to me?" Lady Nanao questioned Lady Rangiku in disbelief with a faint white light glistening from her oval-shaped glasses.

"Huh? Did you say something, Lady Nanao?" Lady Rangiku questioned as her powder blue eyes met the fuming figure of her friend. Disbelief washed over her entire body as Rangiku stared in confusion.

"Wh—Nevermind." Lady Nanao quickly discarded as she walked over to Lady Iri.

"I like the purple one." Lady Iri commented as she gazed at the silky fabric of the kimono. She took note of the fact that she had embellished purple and gold hairpieces into the Empress' hair and the fact that Persian blue joined with grape purple was not an enticing combination.

"I agree, the purple one looks beautiful." Lady Nanao agreed as Rangiku received accessories from her Empress' closet to complete the look to her liking. She _was_ the creator of most of the kimonos that were placed in the closet, after all. The designs were chosen specifically by her as well as the jewelry made from precious stones—carved into unique and elemental objects. The Empress loved Lady Rangiku for her quality of making everything beautiful. From the colour to the stones, she loved all of her work.

Rangiku hummed as she pulled out a few jewelry pieces to complete the outfit before the entrance of the Empress caught her attention.

"Empress Rukia!" She greeted cheerfully as the widowed ruler walked in with a tender smile. She engulfed the petite woman into one of her suffocating hugs, one that almost ruined her hair. The Empress had four ladies that served as her servants and friends in the palace. They were the only ones allowed to call her by her first name and touch her without permission. Lady, Igarashi Iri, Matsumoto Rangiku, Ise Nanao, and Hinamori Momo were the four leading ladies that were granted a status of nobility as her loyal ladies.

Lady Nanao and Iri bowed in respect before joining the hug and pulling apart.

"Let's get you changed." Iri suggested as the women encircled the Empress.

"We wouldn't want you to be late for your meeting." Rangiku added as she removed the white _kosode_ from her master.

"Meeting?" Empress Rukia asked in confusion as she stared at Lady Nanao who was responsible for all of her conferences and agreements. The young Lady nodded her head in response to her master's plum orbs before parting her mouth to speak.

"Yes, the Auris Elders have called a meeting with the Head of the Auris Clan to discuss a future political alliance with another noble clan. Apparently they've received several offers in terms of a political _marriage_." As soon as the words left Lady Nanao's mouth, the Empress regretted asking. The term 'marriage' seemed to be the only word the Elders could not stop discussing. Traditional values were significant to them as the reigning clan. And according to those traditions, an Empress needed an Emp _eror_ to reign.

She spent _three_ years successfully ruling her country independently, on top of being the Head of two high-ranking noble clans—yet the Elders could not respect her wishes and stop discussing her marriage and a future heir. The topic was one that she wished to avoid for the rest of her reign, _and_ her entire life. She sighed as the white robe she wore was stripped from her skin and replaced with the silky fabric of her _kimono_.

"When is it?" Rukia simply questioned as Rangiku tied the amethyst _obi_ at her back. She was hoping it was after breakfast so she could have time to construct a persuasive speech that would convince the Elders to deny any marriage requests. But as the universe would have it, it was most likely _before_ breakfast due to the Elders' morning work ethic.

"In fifteen minutes." _As expected, before breakfast_. She lowered her gaze as her body was draped with a plum-coloured _kosode_ with circular blush-coloured designs – contrasting well with the amethyst _obi_ and the hairpieces in her hair. Rangiku stepped back to admire her work as Lady Iri adjusted the hairpieces that were slightly slanted due to Rangiku's hug.

"Empress Rukia, forgive me for asking but, will you ever get married again?" Lady Iri asked, uncertain if she would answer the question or dismiss her for it. She retracted her pale fingers from the Empress' hair and glared at her as she awaited an answer. The room got silent as the ladies surrounding her waited patiently.

"No." She simply replied as she headed towards the door. _Not again_ _—_ _not ever._

"But...what about Ichigo?" Rangiku said in a concerned tone as she thought about the orange-haired warrior that the Empress had foolishly surrendered herself to. Lord Kurosaki Ichigo—her most trusted guard and one of the many Lords that lead the Empress' army. He was in love with her. Foolishly, helplessly, and completely in love. She was the wife of his cousin, a man who she had visibly loved with all her heart—a man that he strikingly resembled. But regardless, his protection of her never withered or failed, even if he knew (or assumed) that she would never feel the same. After a night of comfort and the breath-taking view of the painted sunrise glistening in his eyes, she had weakly surrendered her heart, body, and _soul_ with a promise to him under the crescent moon. Even if it was nothing but an affair, she felt something too—something she hadn't felt in a long while. Lady Rangiku knew of Ichigo's intention of marrying her. His love for her was the source of his very strength and the kindness within his eyes. She was his every thing—a priceless artifact that couldn't be replaced. However, the Empress refused to marry anyone—even if it was someone she potentially loved. Her heart was forbidden.

The pendant resting near her neck slightly shimmered in response to the sunrise that was fighting off the rain—the storm in her heart, that would soon be vanished.

The Empress slightly turned her head, fiddling with the necklace before she spoke. "Ichigo will...understand."

The rain fell harder.

"Lord Kurosaki is a very determined man, he won't stop at nothing until he gets to call you his wife." Lady Nanao responded to her master's words as the protective nature of the warrior reminisced in her mind.

Raindrops slid like tears.

"Lady Nanao is right, is he aware of your desire to not marry?" Lady Iri questioned as she took a step closer to her master.

"No...but, he can't defy my orders—I am an Empress and he's a warrior—Ichigo will just have to understand." She softly spoke as the realization hit her. She never talked to Ichigo about marriage or what she hoped for them to be in the future. Every time they were together she avoided sentimental topics—preferring to be the Rukia who was free, instead of the Rukia who was caged like a bird. Strangely, even now with the realization striking her, she still refused to discuss the matter. Why couldn't they just be Ichigo and Rukia —nothing less, nothing more.

"But h—"

"He will understand." Empress Rukia kindly cutted Lady Iri off in an attempt to tell her she didn't want to be asked more questions. Lady Iri took note of her master's warning tone and stepped back.

"I will escort you to your meeting, we shouldn't keep the Elders waiting." Nanao said as Lady Rangiku and Iri bowed to their Empress in respect—sending her off with a warm smile, despite the vague atmosphere and the faded yellow sky. The Empress returned their gesture before saying a few last words.

"Will you join me for breakfast in the gardens after the meeting?" The Empress asked.

"Of course!" Rangiku said optimistically which glistened the Empress' mournful aura. With one last farewell, Lady Nanao and Empress Rukia left her chambers—preparing herself for anything the Elders had in stored.

* * *

"Marriage is inevitable—despite your successes we cannot allow you to reign as a widowed Empress any longer. You need to produce an heir and if you are married, your husband can provide you with that." The Elder known as her great uncle – Auris Naosuke said. She mentally sighed in grievance at his words—every time she entered this room, those were always the first words that left his mouth. The desperation for her to agree was finally sinking in.

"Producing an heir isn't my primary concern—it's my future husband that concerns me. I have no intention in dishonoring my husband's memory by replacing him with a new Emperor." Empress Rukia replied in an attempt to use guilt to persuade her clan. And it was true—she had no intention of dishonoring her husband's memory by replacing him. Emperor Shiba Kaien would not be disgraced—she would not allow it to happen. As his wife, he had entrusted his heart to her and that was where it would stay.

"And how long do you intend on reigning as a widowed Empress? That's a disgrace to our clan's values and will result in no heir." Her great aunt, Auris Sarumi snapped with her olive-coloured eyes. Black tendrils framed her face, joined with streaks of grey.

"I understand, but I don't see why it's so difficult to comprehend that an Empress can rule without an Emperor. An heir can be produced at any time without a political marriage being issued." She replied. The Empress refused to accept the Elders' sexist traditional values—holding the Emperor at a higher rank in their social hierarchy charts— _Shinokosho_ , the four divisions of their society. Her reign was not going to be defined by her Emperor. _Her_ decisions and _her_ achievements would define _her_ historic legacy.

"We have no difficulty in accepting you as our ruler as we have stated before. However, an Empress needs an Emperor to rule and handle individual tasks—neglecting this tradition is not an option, it's mandatory as the ruler of this country and the Head of two noble clans." The Elder, Naosuke said. Her eyes scowled, but her face remained cold. They were _lying_ —lying only to please her ears. When her mother first announced her pregnancy, the Elders' were visibly expecting a boy—a _male_ heir was what they desired. But instead, they were given a female heir and no parents to reproduce another child. To continue the Auris legacy, their sexist traditions were forced to be broken which lead to the bitterness they harbored till this day.

"Mandatory as an Empress and Head of two noble clans or mandatory as a woman?" She asked valiantly as she stared into the ash-coloured eyes of her uncle. She was respected—a female warrior with a country depending on her reign. She was the Head of _two_ noble clans and ran a country by herself, yet the Elders still couldn't acknowledge her as an Emperor's equal.

"Both. You need to produce an heir and you need an Emperor to rule. And we will _not_ allow an illegitimate heir to be produced by someone of your status and a commoner." Naosuke replied. Illegitimate—an heir produced by a noble and someone lower in rank. She had thought about producing an heir, long before the Elders had requested her to marry. It was easier than remarrying and would supply, her share of happiness. She fiddled with the necklace, allowing the gold to run along her silky fingertips as she glared.

"I refuse to marry and grant someone the status that rightfully belongs to my late husband, Emperor Shiba Kaien. We are dishonoring his legacy and we are dishonoring my status as a wife." She bitterly said after releasing her necklace. Women were not allowed to have another relationship outside of marriage. It was strictly forbidden and was cited as a disgrace if a wife ever committed the crime of adultery. Her affair with Lord Kurosaki was in fact, illegal—she was disobeying the rules created for her society and shaming her status as a woman and ruler. But she did not care. Men were allowed to have a wife and a mistress but were never shamed. While the women of her society were thrown in a _baishun yado_ (brothel) with courtesans, the men were honored for having a slaved wife and a beautiful mistress.

"Empress Shiba-Auris! We have respected your wishes and allowed you to mourn your husband's death for three years. In return, you are to be married and produce an heir to continue our family's legacy." Sarumi said as she stared in disgust at her niece—the same disgust she harbored ever since her birth.

"And if I refuse?" Rukia challenged.

"You cannot! This is mandatory." Auris Kachishi said, glaring through her oval-shaped glasses.

"I am young, I do not wish to produce an heir at this age." Rukia debated as the eyes of the Elders glared at her. She stood there—vulnerable in the middle as the Elders sat in a circular formation on higher ground.

"You are not obligated to produce an heir in your first year of marriage. However, your marriage is mandatory and certainly you are not too young for that." Sarumi snapped.

"You married Emperor Shiba Kaien at the age of fourteen and stayed married for ten years. You are fully capable of remarrying." Kachishi added in addition to her sister's comment.

"The Shiba Elders have already given their consent to your marriage to another man and are allowing you to hold your position as the Head of their clan in respect to your late husband's wishes." Naosuke said, hoping that the mention of her husband's clan would alter her mind.

"The Shiba Elders consent does not mean I have to marry at this age." Rukia argued. _They...agreed to this?_

"You cannot continue to isolate your duty as the Empress and Head of the Auris and Shiba clan. This is inevitable, Empress Shiba-Auris—you are to be wedded without delay." Auris Masayuri said.

"This is negotiable." She said.

"I'm afraid not, we are not open to any further discussion about your future as an Empress without a reigning Emperor. You are to be wedded—wedded to the Head of the Kuchiki clan and that is our final order." Masayuri replied.

She froze. "The Head...of the Kuchiki clan?"

"Kuchiki Byakuya, the Head of the Kuchiki clan and a prestige _samurai_ warrior." Naosuke elaborated as he read from a thin sheet of paper in front of him. Rukia blinked blankly at the familiar name, remembering her study of the Kuchiki clan's long history of greatly established _samurai_ warriors and the cultured traditions of their family. Slowly returning to reality, she prepared herself to reply—visibly scrunching her face to express her disbelief.

"I do not wish to marry based on a political arrangement made by the Elders of the Kuchiki clan and the Elders of my clan." She argued.

"This political marriage is crucial to our economy and is beneficial for both clans. If you were to choose a groom, you would never be wedded. Unfortunately for you, we have accepted their offer in confirmation of our alliance. Therefore, you are now politically engaged to the Head of the Kuchiki clan, Kuchiki Byakuya." Kachishi said.

"Without my consent?" She asked with dismay and irritation eclipsing her cold eyes.

"Your consent was not necessary. The Head of the Kuchiki clan is a formidable man who will be able to provide you an heir and a historic reign. You should have no complaints, Empress Shiba-Auris." Sarumi said.

"I do not agree to this marriage. I will consult the Kuchiki clan immediately and voice my own refusal." Rukia said with an angered tone. The Kuchiki clan would have to find another suitable woman to be the Head's bride, because she would not marry him—she rather die.

"You will not." Sarumi argued.

"An auspicious date has already been set. You are to be wedded to Kuchiki Byakuya in seven days." Naosuke spoke. _An auspicious date...they had this planned all along._ She wondered how long this engagement was set in place without her knowing. Days...Weeks...Months...Years? The Elders' were a sly council of people, she didn't even bother asking in fear of knowing the answer.

The Empress' eyes widened—turning a shade darker as the thought finally sank in. "Seven days?! There has to be another option. I never agreed to make this man my husband."

The mere thought of the idea was insufferable. The Elders' clearly could not comprehend her mind. She was getting _married_ —to another _man_ —who was going to be the _Emperor._

"We can no longer offer you any possible alternatives. All the arrangements are in place, in seven days you will become Empress Kuchiki-Auris Rukia and your husband, Kuchiki Byakuya will be the Emperor."

Their words were coherent enough for her to understand—unfortunately _too_ coherent. She would no longer be Empress Shiba-Auris—she would no longer be a Shiba. She would be Empress Kuchiki-Auris, ruling alongside the new Emperor—her husband, Kuchiki Byakuya. Desperation was evident in her eyes, the meeting was concluding and she had no other argument that could possibly make them reconsider. They willingly conducted this meeting—fully aware that they had made an agreement of marriage without the pending bride aware of it. In a moment of desperation, she thought about the _shinokosho_ —taking note that they had claimed he was a _samurai._

"He is a _samurai_ —he is _still_ associated with a lower class despite his noble blood." Rukia said.

"A prestigious _samurai_ —skilled and trained. He is a _Diamyo_ and his grandfather, Kuchiki Ginrei was a _Shogun_ —a class below the Emperor and his Empress. He is the most formidable husband you could possibly have." Sarumi said.

"I fear he will not be able to adapt to the traditional values of our clan." She said—fully aware that she had lost. Her comment was foolish. Something created with the last spark of hope that was left in her heart. The Elders could tell she was desperate, her comment alone told them she was still trying to resist her fate.

"This is compulsory, Empress Shiba-Auris. We will not negotiate this arrangement any longer. You are to wed Kuchiki Byakuya, Head of the Kuchiki clan and _samurai_ warrior in seven days. And that is our final order, you are dismissed."

And as the sound of the gravel echoed in the room, the Empress stared—realizing she had lost.

* * *

 **End Note**

Welcome to _The Emperor of Her Heart_ 's prologue! This is a ByaRuki and IchiRuki story that takes place during the Japanese Edo Period.

This is **rated M** for lemon because it is a necessity—especially if ByaRuki and IchiRuki are involved so please be cautious if you are uncomfortable with that.

 **CAUTION:** ByaRuki will _not_ be acknowledged as siblings, this is a story based on their romantic relationship. If you do not feel comfortable reading, then simply do not read. And please do not call it incest because must I remind you they are _not_ blood-related and Rukia is his sister-in-law.

 **Images For This Chapter** **—** To view the image(s) used in this chapter to help visualize scenery, clothing, or expressions, go onto **kagomesangos Tumblr** and click the page titled **The Emperor of Her Heart.**

 _-_ Rukia's pond/petals/tray/entrance/stairs/leaves/morning sky outside her bedroom

\- The cover of The Emperor of Her Heart.

Thank you for reading and please review!

 _-NairaRains/kagomesangos_


	2. Seven Days

EDIT 02/02/17: Some parts have been rewritten, erased, and edited as a part of reconstruction for this book.

* * *

 **Seven Days**

The sweet scent of _sakura_ petals could not be avoided as they descended with the falling rain from the grey sky—silently entering the Kuchiki training grounds through the parted _shōji._ The clash of metal could not go unheard as raspy grunts left the lips of the man known as Kuchiki Byakuya, the prestigious _samurai_ warrior and fiance of the widowed Empress. Streams of sweat framed his face as well as thick tendrils of black that curtained his silver eyes. Precision and concentration burned the vague grey into charcoal as he prepared himself to attack the figure in front of him.

Their swords clashed.

Their usual routine of offense and defense began as their strength was tested when their swords met again. Coldness veiled their emotions as their speed increased, allowing the sound of swashed swords to overpower the sound of the storm. His right hand clutched the hilt of his sword tightly before he directed it towards the right and met with the swing of his opponent's katana.

Gold hairpieces embellished the back of his ink-like hair as the tendrils flew according to his movement. He grunted as he charged at his opponent, preparing himself to counter the fellow _samurai_ 's attack. The blade was dodged immediately and was hastily pressed down to the side, he took the opportunity to clutch the blade with his left hand before slashing towards his opponent's neck.

His opponent let his upper body fall back to avoid the sharp tip of his blade before freeing himself from his grasp and regaining his control over the sword. He flipped back to create some distance before charging at him again. Sweat trickled down the side of his neck as he reminded himself to concentrate. Both of his hands now clutched the hilt of his sword as all his power was forced into the blade—widening the eyes of the _samurai_ as the force pushed him to the ground. The sliver of the blade glistened as the sharpened tip was directed at his opponent's neck. His sword was detached from his right hand and he had no other defense—evidently the Head had won.

"Master," he breathlessly spoke as the man pulled back his sword. Silence engulfed them shortly as the man known as Kuchiki Byakuya towered him with emotionless grey eyes. The piercing blade was now set aside his lower abdomen and thigh, but his startling gaze remained with an emotion the _samurai_ could not identify.

A streak of electric blue flashed in the vague sky, casting a dark shadow that magnified his figure on the wooden walls as he stood. The rain fell harder as he clutched the hilt of his sword tightly before turning around. With his back facing the fallen _samurai_ , he parted his thin lips to speak.

"You let your guard down." The man said to the knelt _samurai_ as his muscular figure stood straight with his eyes scanning an artistic piece in front of him.

"I apologize, Master. I was caught off guard by your swing." He responded truthfully.

"Do not let it happen again, Senbonzakura. I cannot afford illiterate _samurais_ dishonoring my division." Byakuya said as he closed his eyes. Humiliation was certainly not an option. Especially when his entire division of _samurai_ warriors were expected to join him in his movement into the imperial palace.

"My deepest apologies, Master. I will train until you see fit." Senbonzakura said in the faint light produced by several candles.

"No. That will not be necessary as you are not the Head of the Kuchiki clan nor do you need any improvement. I was simply warning you to avoid distractions." Byakuya said to his most trusted General, Senbonzakura. The _samurai_ nodded in response to his Master's words, understanding that if his mistake had occurred in the palace, he would've shamed him as a leader.

And Kuchiki Byakuya could not afford to be shamed by anyone.

"I promise you our division and I will be freed from distractions once we've entered the imperial palace. " Senbonzakura assured even though his master didn't seem to be paying any attention to his words but rather allowing the heavy doldrums outside to fill the silence.

Byakuya did not know what it was, but it seemed that he could not concentrate with the weather outside let alone the announcement he knew was soon to be made public. Still, he did not believe that something as tedious as the subject of marriage could trouble his conscience as much as it seemed to be bothering him now.

It was odd.

"Free your distractions now and dismiss yourself. I wish to be left alone, Senbonzakura."

"Of course." The _samurai_ said in response as he bowed before leaving.

Byakuya sheathed his sword and left the room himself, finding no other reason to stay, once the samurai had left the Manor. It was empty now. As empty as it could be for the past five years and he did not intend on ripping himself away from the peace it brought any sooner if it were possible.

In seven days he was to wed another woman—a woman he did not want to marry although it was for the sake of his clan. In seven days, he would have to sacrifice his peace and solitary life to enter a restless palace. In seven days, he would have to leave his late wife.

And he did not intend on leaving her _ever_ for the love of any other woman.

He made a right turn and closed the shoji that lead to the singular shrine set in the Manor. He did not know what was more unsettling, the fact that he had to comply to this marriage or the fact that he could still look at _her_ every day as if he was doing nothing wrong.

He did not know who this woman was, but he knew that on the night he met her, he would tell her the truth; to expect nothing out of him because nothing was all he would ever consider to give. He would tell her that it would be fitting for her to find a lover because he only intended on getting her pregnant _once_ and that was all.

He wanted nothing from her.

Nothing at all.

If he had to be Emperor, so be it but he did not intend on having the Empress as his wife at all. He only had one...one he had already lost, one who was already dead, but not forgotten.

He narrowed his eyes towards the portrait lit by candles, illuminating her soft smile. If it hadn't been for his obligation as the Head of the Kuchiki clan, Byakuya would have never thought twice about marriage. Even if it would put the Kuchiki family heritage on the line, he would rather suffer the consequences of the Elders rather than do what he was about to do in seven days...do what he was about to do to _her_.

It was inevitable now that the arrangements were done, but that did not mean it was over. If he had to fight this arrangement he would, whether it be before the marriage or after it.

* * *

Amber irises burned lustrously even with the hidden sun in the settling rain. His eyebrows crumpled as he lead the 3rd Division out of the rain and into their barracks. Charcoal and black-coloured armor draped his figure as the army of men behind him walked in unison before they were engulfed with the heat of fire. Torches lit with fire illuminated their barracks as the men stripped themselves of their weapons and let out a breathless sigh.

From early dawn they had trained until their legs had shriveled like day old apples. Sweat merged with rain drenched their hair and framed their faces as swords were clutched tightly and muscular bodies tensed. Lord Kurosaki Ichigo had trained them until all colour had drained from their faces.

And now they sat, quenching their prolonged dehydration with cold water and _sake_. It was well deserved. Ichigo had taken note of their hard work as he dried his orange hair with a cloth. A cold splash of water awakened his amber eyes as the fire ignited its usual spark. The metallic gold that outlined his shoulder armor and thigh guard looked lustrous in the torched lights as he turned his body to welcome his Lieutenant—Kira Izuru.

Shoulder-length blonde hair was combed into three different points in which one covered his left eye as oval blue eyes as clear as the ocean met his. A folded _washi_ was clutched in his hand as he walked into the room to meet the Lord. He bowed at the man before speaking.

"Lord Kurosaki," He acknowledged as the towel left the back of Ichigo's neck. "I'm sorry about my absence, Lady Rangiku needed my help with something. How was training?"

"It was fine—not too fond of the rain though." Ichigo said as the sound of a million raindrops descending from darkened clouds grew louder. His eyes stared through the window that resembled a dungeon with thin steel pillars filling the space. "What did Rangiku want you to do?" He asked as he turned his head to meet the eyes of his gloomy Lieutenant.

He made sure to leave the term 'Lady' out of Rangiku's name as the Lieutenant's aura slightly lightened. If there was one thing Kurosaki Ichigo despised most in this world, it was honorifics. Any name involving the terms Lady, Sir, Ma'am, and even Miss irritated him. Even when his subordinates addressed him as 'Lord Kurosaki' instead of Kurosaki or Ichigo, his entire aura became uncomfortable. He knew they were doing it out of respect but he couldn't help but be bothered. As for Rangiku, she was their friend. What type of 'friends' communicated with honorifics?

"Oh, Lady Rangiku and Lady Momo wanted me to join some of the servants to receive some purified water from the _Shinto_ temple for Empress Shiba-Auris." Izuru replied as he watched the eyes of his Lord spark at the sound of the Empress' name.

"Purified water? Is there suppose to be some kind of event happening?" Ichigo questioned the Lieutenant as he began to unfold the _washi_ in his hand. Izuru shrugged as he silently read the calligraphy written on the piece of paper before voicing the message.

"The Empress has called a public meeting with all divisions, _shoguns_ , _diamyos,_ Ladies, and remaining occupants of the palace in the Court Pune Hall." Izuru announced as he read from the _washi_ that caught the attention of the division.

Ichigo remained silent for a while as his division made noise in the background. Some complained about the length of the meeting, while some worried about the cause of it. He couldn't deny it,—he was curious as well. Public meetings were extremely rare and were usually only used to make big announcements. He couldn't help but wonder what it was and who was truly behind it. The Elders or the Empress? Eagerness tingled the tips of his fingers as he cleared his throat to reply.

"Now?" He asked the man who seemed lost in a short daze.

"Yes, they're starting in about five minutes." Izuru replied as he folded the _washi_ into the rectangular shape it was in before. That was all Ichigo needed to hear before he ordered his division to stand on their feet and head to the Court Pune Hall.

Izuru followed behind him as they walked onto the wooden bridge with red pillars that separated their barracks from the imperial palace.

Rain drenched the spikes of his orange hair as the division entered the space of familiar cream pillars lined with metallic gold and flower petals. Their sandals left a trail of muddy footprints that would wash away with the rain. But it didn't seem to matter to any of them as they made a long right turn into the Court Pune Hall.

The chatter of everyone's voices seemed powerful enough to overpower the rain as the 3rd Division stood in their respective line before they bowed. Ichigo stared at the small balcony that was on higher ground for the Empress as he recognized Lady Iri and Momo approaching the podium. The Ladies wore black _kimonos_ with light pink flowers, purple dipped at the bottom, and a light pink _obi_. Both of them appeared quiet as they moved aside for the Empress to arrive.

The sound of the _shamisen_ playing triggered her appearance as Ichigo's brown eyes stared at the petite figure entering the balcony. He let out a shaky breath as her image became clear to his eyes.

He knew her long enough by now to know that right now, she was merely an actress reading a script to her audience as if she was in some type of play. Her face looked so concrete and cold that the contrast wasn't hard to spot.

"Your Majesty." Everyone acknowledged in unison as they bowed.

Rukia bowed in response with a 'hmph' before she began. "I have called this meeting to inform you all about a recent change in our society that will have a very substantial effect on you all for the next following days." She said as her powerful voice echoed in the room of clustered people. Every line sounded rehearsed and programmed as she spoke with both confidence and boldness. A small piece of _washi_ could be seen in her hands as her eyes darted from the paper to her audience in quick movements. He assumed it was her little speech written down to precision to inform them about the new change.

She took a shaky breath as she parted her lips to speak.

"As you know, my late husband, Emperor Shiba Kaien left his conquering legacy in our hands to protect and endure as he traveled on to the next world. He left with no regrets, and entrusted his legacy to his people to protect and preserve in his passing. And as his wife, I am proud to say that each and every one of you have honored his memory indescribably, which I, the Shiba clan, and the Auris clan are grateful for as we transition to the next step after the three year absence of a reigning Emperor."

Ichigo stared with an unreadable expression as the assembly hall listened attentively to her words,—silently paying their respects to the late Emperor and huddling for warmth as the wind blew. Ichigo threw in his own little sign of respect to his late cousin as the eyes of the Empress slightly expressed some type of emotion that could not be identified. They scanned the piece of paper shortly before returning to the audience.

"And as the Head of the Auris clan, Shiba clan, and the Empress of this country I have tried my very best to fulfill all your needs and wants in the absence of a reigning Emperor. It has been absolutely pleasurable, and I am completely grateful for the support and respect I've been given throughout these three years of endless mourning for our late Emperor. In his absence, I've gained a title that has represented both women and men as equals, which I proudly continue to hold as your Empress. However, as pleasurable as it all has been, I'm afraid..." She allowed herself to pause for a few seconds to regain the firmness in her tone before completing her sentence from the speech she had written down. "I'm afraid I can no longer present myself as a widowed ruler any longer."

That sentence alone created a houseful of reactions and questions that were either displayed physically or mentally. Ichigo felt his own eyebrows crumple as a serious expression masked his face, triggering questions he wanted answers too as her eyes wavered in a different direction. Ichigo took note of the fact that she had refused to look at the area where the divisions were placed as she spoke about the sudden change the palace was to experience. He felt as if she was forcefully avoiding his eyes. As if she didn't want to see his expression as she disclosed any new information.

"Order!" Grunted an old _shogun_ as the sound of the gravel silenced the people below. And once they were completely silenced, the old man turned to the Empress. "You may continue, Empress Shiba-Auris."

She nodded her head in respect before continuing. "The Elders of the Auris clan have recently made a political agreement with another neighboring clan in respect to our step of transition that has been privately discussed before. As the Empress of this country, it is mandatory that I produce an heir to continue the legacy of the Auris clan, Shiba clan, and our country. With the absence of a husband, the Auris clan and I have finally come to an official agreement to our current situation."

She exhaled a shaky breath as she took a few gulps in between. From far, she could see the watchful olive eyes of her great aunt, Sarumi through her oval-shaped glasses. She was watching her seriously with her hands crossed in front her chest and her red lips pressed in a thin line. Another shaky breath escaped her lips as she prepared herself to voice the announcement that she knew would cause an uproar in seconds.

"A-And to fulfill that agreement with the Auris Elders, I have decided to accept their proposal—in order to bond our alliance with another noble clan. Therefore,(she gulped) I-I am to be wedded...wedded to the Head of the Kuchiki clan and _samurai_ warrior, Kuchiki Byakuya in seven days." She said as gasps and reactions filled the room. "And we are to marry...on the seventh day, _here_ —in the palace. Where he will become your next reigning Emperor and my new husband." Her throat went dry—parched and in need of water as her announcement finally came through. The noise level increased as the political leaders tried to regain control of the clustered people.

And he froze.

His heart stopped beating and he could've sworn that a part of him had died in the process as he forced himself to register what Rukia had just said.

 _Rukia was...getting...married?_

His entire body stood in place as a whispered growl escaped his lips. His amber eyes ignited with burning flames of anger as he stared at her. His gaze intensified as he so desperately wanted to see the expression written in her eyes.

Izuru sensed how tense Lord Kurosaki's body got as he stared at her. But those violet eyes never met the fire that consumed his as her words repeated themselves in his ears. _'….wedded to the Head of the Kuchiki clan and samurai warrior, Kuchiki Byakuya in seven days.'_ In seven days, she would no longer be widowed. In seven days, she would be marrying another man. In seven days...she would become fucking Kuchiki-Auris Rukia.

"Order!" Yelled the man with a raspy voice as the assembly hall roared with comments.

She lowered her head as her tiny fingers gently touched the gold and white necklace he had given her as a gift. The pendant that held both the sun and moon did not shine in response to the light emitted by fires and the grey brightness in the sky. It didn't even spark in response to the little shimmer provided by the emeralds embellished in the room. It was like a rusty stone. Dull, hard, and freezing cold.

She patiently waited as the political leaders tried to regain control of the crowd beneath her. Ichigo stood with his figure tall and strong but his mind was in a tornado of raging thoughts. _It was the Elders...there's no way she would've...she would've agreed to this without talking to me._ Ichigo couldn't wait until this meeting was over. He desperately wanted to take a hold of her hand and pull her to the side like he always did and _talk_.

But as expected, the meeting would probably regulate longer than usual. And he was not a patient man when it came to situations like these.

"Empress Shiba-Auris, your decision to marry Kuchiki Byakuya is definitely a very rational choice. Our very own, Kuchiki Ginrei would be proud to hear you chose his grandson as an eligible choice to be your husband and the Emperor. He certainly does exceed the primary requirements to be an Emperor. Therefore, you have our consent, Empress Shiba-Auris. " An old _shogun_ said on behalf of the ten political leaders that were present at the meeting. "You are to marry Kuchiki Byakuya—no objections needed."

Rukia nodded her head towards the man as she looked back down to the crowd. She spoke. But this time, there was more uncertainty and emotion in her voice than before. "I know this decision may seem very... _sudden_ , but it is also very essential. And for that reason, the wedding will proceed in a span of seven days. As my loyal subjects and guards, I ask that you participate in all activities regarding the preparations for this wedding. It is crucial that we honor the Kuchiki clan in the most ornate and elegant way as possible. As of now, I've completed the first ritual in respect to my late mother and will continue to engage in these rituals throughout the next six days. In my absence, I ask that you continue your duties as usual and help with preparations for this wedding. You are all dismissed."

At the sound of the gravel and her voice allowing their dismissal, he easily left his division in search for her as the clustered assembly departed the hall. As he passed by a few people, he could hear their reactions loud and clear. And they weren't the kind he wanted to hear.

"I can't believe she's getting married to _the_ Kuchiki Byakuya. I heard he's colder than an iceberg." A servant woman with curly berry-red hair whispered to the servant woman beside her as they walked.

"Yeah, I know. Some women say he's more arrogant than his grandfather." She replied with a quiet whisper.

The thought was unnerving. He would do whatever it took to prevent this marriage, even if it meant losing his position. Rukia could not marry this man. He was a cold-hearted beast—no heart, no soul, just principle. Most of all, if a man as cold as that ruled, what did that mean for their relationship?

"Oh hush, Itomi it's obviously requited love." A younger woman said as she joined the two girls.

"What makes you think that?" The servant woman asked as she looked at the servant girl who joined her. The woman standing beside her looked as well.

"I mean, why else would Empress Shiba-Auris be so desperate to have the wedding happen in seven days? They've obviously been seeing each other for a long while." She said as they departed his area.

 _Why did she want the wedding to happen in seven days?_

The more she delayed the wedding, the more time they had to discuss. _So, why?_

 _Why didn't she delay it?_

Ichigo discarded the girls' comments as he pushed past the remaining people in the room. A _shogun_ with a stack of papers in his hands passed him roughly as he searched for her. His eyes scanned the area as he searched for her Ladies, but all he could see were servants rushing to start the preparations for the wedding.

 _Rukia, where are you?_

"He's a _samurai_ , correct?" Asked the wife of the noble _samurai_ warrior who stood beside her as servants rushed past them.

"Yes, once he becomes Emperor he'll be the commander of both the thirteen Divisions and the _samurai_ one." The man replied as his wife scanned the room of nobles.

"It seems that things will change after all. I hope our Lady is content with her decision." She said softly.

"Excuse me," Ichigo said to the pair as their eyes met his.

"Lord Kurosaki." The _samurai_ identified as his wife looped an arm around his.

"Sorry, for interrupting. Have you seen Ruki—I mean,—Empress Shiba-Auris?" Ichigo asked before the nobles nodded their heads in unison.

"Yes, actually you just missed her." The wife spoke on the behalf of the both of them as a shone of disappointment glinted in his eyes.

 _Dammit._

"By any chance do you know where she went?" He asked as his eyes left hers momentarily to find his Ladies.

"I believe she's gone to continue the rest of her wedding rituals, Lord Kurosaki." The man chuckled. "She _is_ getting married."

 _I know that and that's what I'm trying to stop._

"Ask Lady Ise, I'm sure she has the schedule." The woman said with a soft smile which Ichigo returned.

"Thanks." He said before he departed from the couple in search for Rukia.

* * *

Two days.

Two days had gone past since her announcement of the wedding between her and Kuchiki Byakuya.

Rukia felt her eyes close in exhaustion as her attention slowly turned to the doors that lead into her chamber that was carefully being...rearranged.

She could see it now. The bed she once shared with her late husband being removed and crushed like the memories of him in the palace. The Elders (and Lady Rangiku) had ordered her (and advised) that she renovated her chambers so that her new husband would not feel uncomfortable sleeping in a room that was once home to another man.

Still, they couldn't simply believe that the transition would be as simple for her after three years. He was her first love...after all.

She dipped her brush into a fern green paint before splashing it against the _washi_ —not even painting could distract her from all the transitions she would soon be facing.

Everything was gone.

Her bed, the paintings, the dressers, the memories everything was just _...gone._ She had no say in anything, in fact she didn't _say_ anything at all. She only talked when necessary, and when she did it was usually in short sentences or commands. She didn't want to talk, she was too busy trying to control the inner conflicts battling in her mind. The biggest one that could come to mind was _him_ —the orange-haired warrior with a smug smile and warm eyes. What could she say to him? What could she do? She was fully aware that he knew of her engagement (at least, by now) to another man but, what else could she possibly say? She wasn't _trying_ to avoid him on purpose, the preparations left her no room to even breathe, let alone talk. But she couldn't deny it. She was fine with the space. It gave her time to think about how they were going to say goodbye... or _if_ they were going to say goodbye.

And how _could_ she say goodbye?

 _He_ was her lifeline.

And then there was her, dangling on the other end of the thread—hoping his hand would still hold on to her, regardless. And it hurt. Hurt that she _knew_ that she was torturing him, and he could never say a word. She couldn't help but feel foolish for allowing herself to surrender into his arms. What was she going to do now? Apologize for being weak? Apologize for not being able to love him?

 _No._

She mentally shook her head at her _own_ foolishness. Ichigo would understand—he _had_ too. The Kuchiki clan was a very conservative family. If the truth about her and Ichigo ever surfaced her reputation, her family, and…...her _life_ would all fall apart. It wouldn't be fair to hold on to Ichigo's hand while her hand was being held by another. She wouldn't do that to him, she couldn't. He deserved some happiness. He deserved someone better than her.

She would release him. Release her grasp from his hand, offer it to someone else who was capable of loving him fully and openingly. Someone who could offer him everything she couldn't, except her hand. And she would do it tonight. It was better to get it over with early since the Kuchikis were arriving in two days and she could barely hold on to his hand any longer.

She would do it tonight. She had too. For his sake, and most importantly, _hers_.

 _Flashback_

 _It was nostalgic._

 _Everything she saw before her eyes felt like nothing more than nostalgia as the moon hung in the tainted sky._

 _It would simply be another nightmare if it wasn't for the person she was standing with as darkness engulfed her atmosphere and the moon reflected a pure white light._

 _"Ichigo." She whispered gently as his spiky orange hair became visible near the nearest tree_ — _connected by a set of lush vines that ran along the cold surface of glass and parted like branches on a tree. She could hear the wind whisper against the glass and lonely leaves scatter and dance._

 _She had no idea what she was doing here so late at night, but she had listened to his request regardless of her own exhaustion to find out why. But he said nothing. And perhaps, she didn't want him too. His silence never hinted something dangerous or vile, it was simply just unstrained silence filled with whispers from the wind and breaths. And maybe...she wanted it to stay like that too._

 _"Ichigo." She whispered again before taking a step closer to his turned figure and right hand pressed onto the glass._

 _It was only then when he turned around to meet the most puzzling violet eyes he'd ever seen. Lost and confused as she awaited a response that told her why she was here. He took a few steps closer to her with his expression soft but, hard to read. Her gaze never left his as he entered her personal space_ — _staring down at the petite woman who looked perplexed but, fierce as he parted his lips to release the three syllables he knew she wanted to hear._

 _"Rukia." He said with his voice barely above a whisper as his fingers gently played with the softness of her fingers and skin. She didn't lose his stare, just like he held her gaze. Their eyes stayed intact as he gently held her hand and rose it to his chest in a swift action that caused her to properly breathe._

 _A small smile formed on her lips as she felt her entire body relax to the sound of his voice. "Ichigo, why am I here?" She asked in perplexity as the moonlight illuminated both of their figures._

 _Her voice was soft but was tinged with curiosity. He took note of that as his thumb daintily rubbed circles on the exterior part of her left hand_ — _warming her cold skin with just a single touch. He knew she was probably going to get sick after this, it'd be his fault after all for calling her out into the palace's greenhouse on such a cold night. Her thin hanfu wasn't necessarily providing her the warmth she needed at the moment and the breath of the wind was visibly tinting her supple cheeks. And the freshly watered plants surrounding them generated more cold air than the wind, itself but the Empress didn't tremble._

 _"You're here because I want you to be here." He said with a low tone before fanning her face with his breath. She allowed herself to close her eyes for a few seconds before reopening them to see the bright spikes of his hair. She lightly punched him with her right hand causing him to stumble back from her body and face. Her smile grew even wider on her face in response to his comical reaction. "Hey_ — _"_

 _"Ichigo." She said, slicing him off as the sound of her guards walking only a few yards away gained her attention. "I'm serious, why am I here? I ha_ — _"_

 _"I haven't seen you in months." He stated as he brought himself closer to her again, only to see her violet eyes darken into midnight blue. She lowered her head slightly as her gaze finally left his_ — _her eyes were too deceiving to show, even to him. And she didn't know why she even bothered asking, it was her own fault for being so invested in his sudden request to see her._

 _And now, she could see his brown eyes harden as if she was silently rejecting him, even though she wasn't. "Ichigo I_ — _"_

 _"Why are you avoiding me?" He questioned as his hands suddenly fell to her shoulders. "Why haven't I been able to speak to you, see you, even hear you for the past two months?"_

 _"Where did you go? Why were you hiding?" He added in addition to his other questions. Her breathing hitched at the back of her throat as her eyes slowly traveled up his chest to meet his._

 _"I've just been busy, that's all. You know how it is, Ichigo. The Elders won't leave me alone until I sign this agreement to rebuild the Hiraguchi clan's Manor in the Diamyo districts and the Shiba Elders want me to finalize the designs for their weaponry business and_ — _"_

 _"You just disappeared. Your chambers, your garden, your stands,_ — _everything. You were never there, not even in the meetings regarding the thirteen Divisions." Ichigo said with a tone filled with concern._

 _She lowered her head again, but slowly raised it to meet his eyes again._

 _"I know, and I'm sorry. Things have just been really...hectic. It's been a while since I've had actual time for myself." She said with her voice fading towards the end. "I promise, I'll make it up to you. Soon_ — _I promise."_

 _And how long was soon?_

 _She didn't know nor did he._

 _All he knew was that he wanted her here with him. Right beside him like she always was from the very beginning. If only that could be the reality they both had, the one they would've endorse like a hug that would never be unclasped. But unfortunately, that wasn't the case. It wasn't their case at all._

 _She was an Empress and he was a warrior set to protect. It didn't work_ — _but why couldn't it?_

 _"Listen, Rukia. We've known each other for a long time, so there's no need to hide the truth." He said. "If you want space I'll give it to you, just...ask. Don't go disappearing on me and then tell me you're just busy."_

 _"Ichigo, wait_ — _I didn't mean it like that. Why are you jumping to conclusions?" And suddenly the war began._

 _"Wha_ — _hey Rukia, how come I'm the one getting crapped on? You're the one who just disappeared." The defense kicked in._

 _"Fool! When I said I didn't have time for myself, I meant I didn't have time to see you, not to be with you." The offense attacked._

 _"You should've just said that instead of getting me all worried." Ichigo said._

 _"I swear, Ichigo sometimes you can be so dense." Rukia replied as she crossed her arms._

 _"Me?! It's not my fault you can't express your feelings properly." Ichigo said as he stared down at the midget Empress who stood bold and unbothered._

 _"What?! I can express my feelings perfectly fine." Rukia said as she looked up at the bright-haired warrior who stood flustered and confused._

 _"B-But, Rukia_ — _" He groaned. "How the hell am I suppose to understand such a crappy response?" He asked before she turned her figure away and closed her eyes._

 _"Well, I kinda assumed you would since 'we've known each other for a long time'." She said in a low tone before her previous enmity ignited itself again. "And what part of my response was crappy?!"_

 _"We_ _have_ _known each other for a long time." He said as his hands reached out to her shoulders and turned her body to face him. "I just expected a more 'direct' response from_ _Rukia_ _, not an I'm-Empress-Shiba-Auris-Rukia-and-coldness-and-formalities-rule-my-soul response."_

 _And unfortunately, she couldn't control the actions of her own lips as she giggled at his response. Their atmosphere became relaxed all over again as he responded to her smile_ — _gently pulling their bodies closer as a faint blush appeared on her cheeks._ _This_ _is what she wanted. The ecstasy of freedom and the restraints allowing her to be free. This is what she craved for. A love so pure and free that it could never be broken._

 _He found himself breathless as the moon bathed her skin with its reflected light_ — _forming a dark shadow of both of their figures, one short and one tall. And in that moment they were just Ichigo and Rukia. Nobility, rank, family, citizens, they all didn't matter. It was just them._

 _She snaked her arms around his waist before burying her head into his chest. He smiled at her boldness before pulling her even closer. She was cold and he was warm_ — _a perfect romantic representation of their relationship. His large hands rested on her back as his entire body embraced her petite figure. And if she could, she'd stay in this position forever. She felt protected and ironically free despite his arms caging her._

 _"Ichigo..." Her voice was barely above a whisper as she inhaled his powerful scent. He didn't know what he heard in her tone that startled him. Maybe it was yearning or sadness and that's exactly what he didn't want her to feel. And suddenly he was reminded about the real purpose behind his sudden request. The reason why he urgently asked her to join him here while the full moon hung so brightly in the night sky._

 _After a prolonged amount of silence, he spoke._

 _"I'm leaving..." He started with a quiet tone."…..for a mission, tomorrow_ — _at noon. The samurais are at war, and the Elders ordered us to go and fight."_

 _She whimpered into his chest before pulling apart. "How long will you be gone for?"_

 _He felt defeated as he responded. "Five months. The Elders said it might take longer but, I highly doubt that."_

 _She lowered her head. "Oh...is that why you came to see me?" She asked with her tone moving an octave high._

 _He nodded his head. "I wanted to see you one last time before I left."_

 _"Ichigo, please..." Her voice faded towards the end. "…..please be careful."_

 _He waited for her to continue._

 _"The samurais are very arrogant people, they are not fond of accepting help even if it's from the palace, itself. You never know if they might turn on you and your division, so just...just be careful if you're collaborating with them." She warned with her eyes drowning in despair._

 _"Hey," He teased. "I'll be fine, don't worry."_

 _"Are you sure?" She asked even though she already knew his answer._

 _"Rukia," He whispered as he allowed his hands to fall and clutch her waist. "I'll be fine." He voiced into her ear causing her to whimper as the heat radiating off both of their bodies merged._

 _"I just want to_ — _(he breathed)_ — _spend the night_ — _(she panted)_ — _with you." He said with a low tone that mentally drove her mad. His fingers touched the thin fabric of her hanfu as he pressed his hand onto her supple thigh. He pushed up the thin fabric to reveal her left thigh before positioning her left leg to hook onto his broad waist. She released a deep breath before hooking her right leg onto his broad waist as he massaged her left thigh with his large hands. Her arms encircled his neck as his left hand clutched her right thigh._

 _She knew exactly what was stirring inside of her. She was utterly wet just by the presence of his hands massaging her thighs. Drenched, or more preferably soaked as she pulled his neck (and automatically his upper body) closer. He moved his head towards the right (from his position) side of her neck before planting a trail of wet kisses and clasping her skin in between his teeth. She gasped as she brought her lips to his ear, closing her eyes to savor the pleasure of his hands massaging her thighs and his lips biting her skin._

 _"Ichigo." She breathed into his ear before he bit the skin on her neck, erupting the passion in her that she tried so desperately to suppress. She gasped again before she dangerously rolled her hips that left his length hard and yearning before she parted her lips to speak again. "Please just...stay with me, Ichigo. Just...stay."_

 _"Forever?" He asked with a raspy tone as he let his face bury itself in her hair before moving his lips to her ear._

 _"Forever." She said as she pulled her neck back allowing his lips to move from her ear to her neck._

 _Flashback End_

* * *

Torches lit up the cold brick corridor that lead to the guard's dormitory as the wind loudly whispered into the creaks. Her hand lightly held a lantern with fire that guided her way down the empty path as her hair—free from her hairpieces and jewelry—moved slightly to the force of the wind.

A magnified dark shadow of her frame formed on the walls as she walked quietly with a sadistic expression on her face. Her illegitimate Romeo, the man she was forbidden to love openly or even see openly was the only person she could ever want in this lifetime or the next.

 _Forbidden_ , she thought. That word had such a charm to it.

Their love was forbidden, _she_ was forbidden.

Her hand belonged to someone else, or _was_ promised to someone else. She couldn't disgrace her clan, but she also didn't want leave him. And suddenly, the voice of Lady Rangiku spoke in her mind, reminding her about the discussion they previously had before her arrival. _' Listen, if you and Ichigo are truly meant to be together, life will find a way to make it happen. For where there's sun, you'll find the moon, and neither can be forsaken'._ She had said in a tone that comforted her as she mentally cried. That quote, itself still tortured her silently.

She made a right turn to enter another corridor with twelve dark blue _shōji_. She stared at the doors to find the one that belonged to him. The one that kept him sealed away in grey walls, one window, a bed with night blue sheets, and a kitchen. She sighed as she thought about his scent of fresh linen. It was like the scent of fresh laundry. And suddenly she found herself remembering the crinkles on his pristine sheets and the crumpled lines on the ends of his short-sleeved _jinbei_. She had ironed them personally after he made a request to see her as his maid.

And now, she stood only a couple metres away from his door—her heart beating hastily under her skin as the _shōji_ suddenly slid open. She gulped nervously as she prepared herself to see his fringe of orange illuminated by the torches of fire. But fortunately in her panicking state, it wasn't him.

"Goodnight, Kurosaki _-kun_." Said the voice of Inoue Orihime before she bowed at his _shōji_ and turned away. Her auburn hair was pulled back in a ponytail with a few strands letting loose in front her face. She wore her usual watermelon-pink _kimono_ with flowers and a lemonade-pink _haori_ with a slit of white under her _kimono_. She was a nurse from the palace's medical quarters, a skilled nurse on top of that. Her slate grey eyes erupted in spirit as she spotted the Empress just metres away from the door.

"Shiba- _san_!" She smiled as she ran up to the petite Empress with joy.

"Inoue, its been a while." Rukia responded with a smile before the woman eagerly nodded her head. Orihime had joined the 3rd Division and the 10th Division in their fight against the enemy to aid them in healing and defense. After months of being away, she was finally back to her usual duties. One, being her usual visits to Lord Kurosaki.

"I heard you're getting married again! Congratulations, Shiba- _san_!" She said excitingly as her lips parted.

"H-Huh? Oh yeah, right. I'm remarrying." Rukia said as she tried to suppress the displeasure of remarrying in her tone.

"I heard he's a great _samurai_ warrior as well as the Head of the Kuchiki clan." She said with the same excitement in her voice.

"Yeah, he is." Rukia replied as the woman smiled.

"So, have you found someone to be your flower girl yet?" Orihime asked as the Empress' eyes wavered over to the open _shōji_ before meeting hers.

"Actually no, Inoue." She said before parting her lips to speak again. "Would you like to be my flower girl?"

She erupted with joy. "Y-Yes, I would! Thank you Shiba- _san_! I am very honoured."

"No need to thank me, Inoue. I was thinking of asking you anyways." Rukia said as Orihime bowed to her.

"Well, I have to be going now. There's a lot of things to do now that I'm your flower girl, or flower woman. B-Bye, Shiba- _san_!" Orihime bowed one last time before departing past the petite Empress in the happiest mood she could possibly be in. Rukia watched her as she departed from the hall into the next with a hum of joy and a smile of gold.

And now she stared at the empty hall with the same sadness that had disappeared just moments ago, returned. Orihime's aura of happiness had purified the dark vapor in her soul, momentarily leaving her in neutralized peace. If only that feeling of purification had lasted longer, she wouldn't have to feel as heavy as she did now.

And suddenly, her entire heart dropped beneath her skin when his voice—so raspy and audibly venomous—reached her ears.

And she paused.

She didn't know how to react or what to say but her body told her to turn around and that's exactly what she did.

" _So_..." He said shortly before pausing. "He's a great _samurai_." Ichigo said with his frame leaning against the parted _shōji._

His muscular arms became visible as his large hands touched the sides of the parted _shōji. Hands that once held hers so tightly, hands that once rummaged her entire body so gently, hands that once..._ "Ichigo."

Her voice was stern. Cold like skin and hard as stone. _The less emotion, the better_ , she thought as his eyes remained lowered to the ground. It would be somewhat easier for her to talk to him formally, instead of releasing all her emotion in a sadistic goodbye. It would make it easier to see him, easier to meet his eyes, easier to seem _real_. She cleared her throat before speaking.

"I—"

"You came to say goodbye." He stated venomously with the spikes framing his face forging a dark shadow. Silence engulfed them shortly as Rukia stared at his hidden face with eyes like shadows. She could feel her entire body go numb at his words as she searched for his hidden eyes. His statement alone was enough to break her mentally. It crushed her before she could even utter a single word. And she hated it. _Loathed_ the feeling of being so weak, so _in need_ of his protection. If it wasn't for the act of tears being rid of her emotions three years ago, she would've cried.

The silence remained as she lowered her head ever so slightly.

"This is compulsory." She muttered with her formal tone overlapping the affectionate and emotional tone daring to betray her voice.

"—Rukia,"

"No, Ichigo." She said quickly before he could say anything else. "There's nothing we can do about this, there's nothing _I_ can do about this and that's the bare truth."

"Rukia, you're the Empress, you _can_ do something about this." Ichigo said with his head lowered.

"My question is, why won't you?" He asked before his eyes finally met hers—a hidden sadness burned within. They were so dull and heartless, just like her soul. Everything about his figure appeared angry and somewhat, misguided as he waited for her to reply.

"As the Empress, it is necessary that I produce an heir to continue my family's legacy. I can't avoid this, Ichigo. It's compulsory." She said with her betraying voice allowing some emotion.

"I thought we already had a plan to deal with that." He said with anger laced in his tone.

"I can't produce an illegitimate heir, Ichigo. I can't _adopt_ an illegitimate heir. The Elders want an noble blood heir and the Emperor is the only person that can provide me that opportunity." Rukia said with her eyes now betraying her concrete expression. "Everything regarding this wedding is about my family's name and legacy, I can't run away from this marriage, I just... _can't_."

Ichigo didn't reply.

Even though he knew that she couldn't avoid it, he wanted her to try.

 _Try_ , to save the spark they shared.

 _Try_ , to stop the marriage.

 _Try_ , to convince the Elders to reconsider.

Just... _.try_.

"And what about _us_?" He asked quietly after a few moments of strained silence that he so desperately wanted to obliterate from their atmosphere. And in that moment, he wanted her to melt. Melt like the wax on a candle and surrender into his arms like a helpless child. But she was _Rukia_. And the woman he knew refused to be beaten down by emotions such as frailty, even though she was silently crying in her own mind.

And he knew, her eyes wouldn't dare betray her in that moment as she allowed coldness to seep into the depths of her soul. _Beautiful, but cold_. That's what she was. Beautiful but exceptionally cold—not in heart and mind, but in soul. And due to that statement that so beautifully defined her, she wouldn't allow herself to show any emotion. Not on the life of her own soul.

And he knew she was all he could ever want, in this lifetime and the next. But what about her?

Could she move on to this marriage, happily? Could she live without him, happily?

And nothing was all she could say because she couldn't—no, she wouldn't— _dare_ torture him anymore with her hand so carelessly holding on to his. She would let it go...set it free to belong to someone else...someone who could love him openingly...someone who could marry him and _love_ him with all their heart and soul. For as, she was unworthy of being called a woman that so happily belonged to Kurosaki Ichigo.

Slowly, her fingertips touched the necklace. The necklace shaped like the sun and moon, one born to create the essence of light and one born to create the essence of night. They could rise and die each day or night, or be warm and cold like fire and ice. They were everything two lovers could possibly need. A man filled with ember and a woman who could icly bleed.

And she knew, how desperately she wanted them to be seen. But what lied in front of her was her fate. Her _destined_ fate—Kuchiki Byakuya—a man she didn't even know or ever seen.

This was her fate.

She was ruler, not a fiend.

And as a woman of her word, she would leave.

"It is not me who's mistaken, it is the Elders who desire this marriage, not me. This is compulsory, something I must do for the sake of my country and most importantly... _me_. I have to do this, Ichigo—I have too. This...this, is my fate. And if a woman like me were to have another man as a lover, my honor would die along my body too. You have to understand." She said with her voice getting softer towards the end. She took a few steps closer to his body before outstretching her hand to lightly cover his—with her eyes looking down, she spoke."I-I'm so sorry, Ichigo, about all of this—about _us_. I just...I just can't avoid this. It's impossible."

 _Inevitable._

 _Impossible_

 _In control._

And suddenly, her hand began to tremble.

Her violet eyes grew dark.

And if there was a hint of fragility in her tone, he wouldn't know. Because _this_ , this was something different. Something foreign, something he never came to know.

"But I want you to remember something. Something that will always be ours, something that will always signify us as one, Ichigo. Something...that has always _been_ us. For where there's sun (her eyes met his), you'll find a moon (his eyes met hers), and neither one could ever be forsaken."

* * *

 **End Note**

I'm not exactly satisfied with this chapter but it will have to do for now since I took a month to edit it. This first chapter was simply just to introduce Rukia's inner struggle, her relationship with Ichigo, Ichigo's perspective, and Byakuya's perspective. So I apologize for the lack of suspense and interest this is suppose to have. In the next chapter, the first part of the wedding between the beautiful Empress and soon-to-be Emperor will take place so be prepared as I introduce Byaruki's **first** visual interaction.

 **Note:** Chinese Dynastys and Japanese Edo Period will be included in this story.

 **Images For This Chapter (View kagomesangos Tumblr and click The Emperor of Her Heart to view images)**

 _Rukia's attire_ — _Purple kimono and haori_

 _Lady Iri and Momo's attire_ — _Black kimono, light pink flowers, purple dipped bottom, and light pink obi_

 _Scenery_ — _Greenhouse_

 _Rukia's attire_ — _Chinese hanfu_

 _Orihime's attire_ — _Kimono and hairstyle_

 **Please leave me a review of your thoughts!**

— NairaRains/kagomesangos


	3. The Jade Hall

**Pre-Note**

 **Disclaimer:** Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite, not me.

* * *

EDIT 02/02/17: There are many scenes that I've decided to erase in this chapter that are no longer a part of the plot line for the sake of the story. Also, for the re-readers, this chapter is no longer called _The Red Hall_ but rather _The Jade Hall_ —my most recent chapter explains why. Happy Reading!

* * *

 **The Jade Hall**

"You want me to wear _that_ to the dinner?" Empress Rukia asked as she stared with her widened violet eyes at the black _kimono_ with a lower v-line and a slit that was placed on the bottom portion of her newly-made outfit. It was indeed a beautiful _kimono,_ but the sensuality and the showcase of skin was beyond her own confidence and most importantly, too inappropriate for her to show.

"Uh—Rangiku, don't you think that's a bit too... _revealing_ for Empress Rukia to wear to a dinner?" Lady Iri asked as her slender fingers placed the red fan-shaped hairpiece onto the velvet black tray in her hands. She moved closer to the Empress' new dresser as the golden light provided by the candles and lanterns reflected in the mirror.

"Y-Yeah, I agree with Lady Iri. M-Maybe you can wear it another time, Rukia!" Lady Momo suggested as she sat beside the standing figure of Lady Iri.

"Oh c'mon! She's meeting her future husband for the first time! She's gotta make some type of impression." Rangiku winked at the Ladies behind her as Rukia stared uncomfortably at the revealing _kimono_.

"And she has to make a sexual one?" Lady Iri questioned as a soft knock came from the door. All of them turned their attention to the opening door as Lady Rangiku held the revealing _kimono_ in her right hand. And when the door fully opened, Lady Nanao appeared with a few papers in her hand and a black _yukata_.

"Sorry for intruding, I was just wondering if Empress Rukia's _kimono_ was—ahhh! What is that?!" Lady Nanao said in horror as she stared at what was suppose to be a _kimono_ , but looked more like a piece of cloth. Lady Rangiku stared at her with a confused expression as she looked from Nanao to the revealing _kimono_. "Are you out of your mind?! Empress Rukia can't wear that to a dinner! That's absolutely inappropriate!"

"I thought it looked really nice. Oh c'mon, Nanao she has to make _some_ type of impression. He's going to be her husband, he's bound to see her wearing one of these eventually." Rangiku said causing Rukia—who was standing right behind her—to blush lightly. "Right, Rukia?"

Her eyes slightly widened. "Um—actually, I don't really have any intention of doing _that_ with him as of yet." Rukia replied apologetically as Nanao tried to overcome the horrified expression on her face.

"As of yet." Rangiku repeated with a wink as she glanced down at her work of art. "In the meanwhile, I'll keep this in my room until you're ready to use it for that soon-to-be husband of yours."

"O-Or maybe she could wear it for Ichigo." Lady Momo said causing the room to drop dead silent. Rukia lowered her head as the hushed breathing of the Ladies made noises in the background. It was only then when Lady Momo realized she had said something wrong, and she was quick to apologize for it as everyone turned away. "R-Rukia, I-I'm so sorry—I didn't mean to—"

"It's okay, Momo." Rukia said gently before flashing a small, but painful smile. The sound of his name only brought back the painful memory of her goodbye to him and his hand that had gently latched onto hers. She had turned around—her hand slowly slipping away from the palm of his hand as her eyes grew dark and a bit wet. But then suddenly, his hand had reached out to her and grabbed her with a stronghold. She turned half way around to see his face—rich with anger.

"Ichigo, _please_." She had said as those amber eyes filled with determination, growled. Everything about his presence screamed frustration and rage, she didn't know how long he could control himself before he slammed his fist onto the wall.

"I will stop the wedding, Rukia." He had said with his glare pounding through her skull. "You can't just marry another man and expect me to say goodbye. It's stupid and if you expect me just to sit around and watch you marry someone else, you're wrong, Rukia. _Wrong_."

"If you dare destroy my wedding I—"

"Oh, so now it's _your_ wedding. Not _the_ wedding or the _Elders'_ wedding. So you're actually considering to marry this guy for _real_ as in, I never existed and you and him rule." Ichigo had said bitterly as Rukia's darkened eyes glared with dominance.

"That's not the point. The point _is_ , you can't ruin this wedding, Ichigo."

"I can't?" He challenged.

"No, you can't." Rukia had said. "This wedding will proceed as planned and you will not stop it. If it makes you feel any better, you don't actually have to attend since you're incapable of controlling yourself."

"Like I planned too." He had scoffed.

"Please, just let this go." She had pleaded before her face softened.

"Let what go? The wedding or you?"

" _Both_." She had answered. "I'm trying to do the right thing here."

"Well it's not the right thing, Rukia—it's not. He'll throw you under the tables before you can even step on the floor. He'll have mistresses, visit brothels—even bring one of them into your room. Is that really what you want, Rukia? Do you want to be discarded as a toy all your life or mean something like you've always deserved? Once you're pregnant, that child will be the only thing tying you both together. You're smarter than this, Rukia. I know you are. If there's any woman I know who's strong enough to fight for equality, it's you. So, why are you doing this to yourself? Throwing me away when your soon-to-be husband is going to throw you away?"

She had not known what overcame her but bitterness had clouded her eyes. She wasn't angry nor happy or sad. She had felt bitter. Bitter of the fact that he was most likely right, bitter of the fact that she was going to be used all over again. She had felt weak and useless, her soon-to-be husband was going to be nothing but the Emperor. Not a lover, not a friend, nor an acquaintance—not that she had intended them to be anything at all.

"I-I'm so sorry." Momo said tearfully after realizing her horrible mistake. Lady Iri rested a gentle hand on her right shoulder as Rukia took several steps closer to her.

"Momo, really—it's okay. You didn't mean to bring his name up on purpose. It was just by accident, that's all." Rukia said reassuringly to her friend as the memory continued to play out in her head.

"People were created to be _loved_. Things were created to be _used_. The reason the world is in chaos is because _things_ are being loved and _people_ are being used. You know what _diamyos_ are like—0.1% of their marriages are out of love and care. Save yourself before they or _he_ tears you apart." Ichigo had argued in addition to his previous words.

And she had stared at him with midnight blue irises resembling the petals of the poisonous newry blue plant she kept hidden in the depths of her garden. The roots of a newry blue plant were 90% more poisonous than the petals, itself and even if her eyes were silently flowered with poison, it was her roots that were the deadliest. The question was: where were they?

"And what if it's you, not him who's tearing me apart? What if it's you, not him who's on the other end of the string? Listen, Ichigo I understand that you're trying to protect me, but understand that just because _they_ are calm, it doesn't mean _they_ don't have plenty of reasons to wake. You know me better than that, you know _them_ better than that. And the truth is...I don't want you to be right. I really don't. Because being torn apart is the last thing I want on my to-do list." She had argued and he had growled.

"The storm hasn't started yet, Ichigo. It hasn't, but it will. For now, you have to understand. I beg of you, please understand! Do _not_ ruin this wedding, Ichigo, do _not_. I will never forgive you if you do...I will never forgive you if you come chasing after me." She had said. "My family...the Elders...my legacy... _.Kaien's_ legacy will all be destroyed if you do."

"Don't worry, Momo. I have a feeling Ichigo and Rukia will be reunited sooner than you think." She winked with a hopeful smile as she bent down at the young Lady.

"Rangiku!" Lady Nanao snapped as the Empress' smile faded.

"What? I didn't say anything wrong did I?" Lady Rangiku asked cluelessly as a steam of smoke outlined Nanao's figure in fury.

"Ah—Nevermind." Lady Nanao quickly discarded. "We don't have time for any of this. You need to make another _kimono_ for the dinner tonight with the Kuchikis. Nothing provocative and absolutely no skin other than her neck, face, and hands should be shown."

"Awhhh, c'mon! Not even a slit?" Lady Rangiku pouted as she got closer to Lady Nanao.

"Disallowed." Nanao stated before turning her attention to Empress Rukia.

"Empress Rukia, is there anything specific you'd like on your _kimono_ for the dinner tonight?" Lady Nanao asked with a softened tone and smile before Rukia returned it.

"Actually, no."

"Two weddings in one day? I'm going to have to make thinner _kimonos_ if we're going to be walking around all day." Rangiku said as she turned to the Empress.

"The traditional wedding will happen in the morning at the Eastern gardens that now belongs to the Kuchiki family at the palace's far end.." Rukia briefly explained.

"Sounds exhausting." Lady Iri smiled as she completed the final layout of all the jewelry components that were going to be used tonight and on the wedding day.

Lady Momo giggled. "I feel bad for Omaeda, he's the one who's going to be cooking all the food."

Lady Iri nodded her head. "I agree, but the servants will help him—they have too."

"But you know what a showoff he can be at times. If Lady Sui-Fong isn't there, something's bound to happen." Lady Nanao said as Rukia fixed the dangling style hair pieces in her hair. She let out a yawn as the lines of the orange designs on Rangiku's _yukata_ shimmered—bringing her back to the final part of her goodbye.

"Let me go, Ichigo... _.let me go_." She had whispered softly as his grip loosened and her hand slid off his palm. She had given him a longing look with her eyes accompanied by a faint smile as she turned around and walked away. _Let me go._

* * *

Paperwork and lukewarm tea were organized and piled onto the desk of _Diamyo_ Kuchiki as the sun was preparing itself to set. His face remained neutral and concentrated as the brush in his hand was dipped into a pool of thick black ink and smothered onto the remaining paper in proficient calligraphy.

Unfortunately, he could not bring himself to open the door and see the blinding rays vanish into the night. Especially when this was the night he'd meet his future wife. The faster the sunset approached, the quicker he would have to leave and visit the imperial palace for the dinner between the Kuchiki clan and the Auris clan.

As of now he was draped in his white night robe with exhaustion robbing him of his concentration and thoughts. Regardless, his attendance was necessary for the dinner to proceed as planned unless consequences would be issued. As a man of his word, he swore on an oath to attend the dinner and marry the Empress to continue the Kuchiki legacy at a higher rate than any other Head of the Kuchiki clan had ever achieved. It was his legacy that he needed to protect. Nothing else, nothing more.

If only that could be easily understood.

He cleared his throat with his eyes focused on the paper and the brush between his slender fingers as a figure walked in. "Consort Jiahao, I don't believe I ever invited you in." He said casually as he stacked the remaining papers left and placed them to the edge of his desk.

He wasn't looking at her, but he could already tell that she was draped in her usual silk fabrics and high-priced hair ornaments that always dangled at the sides of her pale face.

"I don't believe I _need_ an invitation to visit you, _Diamyo_ Kuchiki—after all, you already owe me so much. Don't I deserve to be spared?" She lowered her body to the cushion provided on the floor and stared at the right side of his face. A smirk forged itself on her lips as the dangling hairpieces embellished in her hair made clinking sounds.

"I do not owe you anything as you are simply a strategist and Consort of the imperial palace." He answered with his raspy voice and eyes concentrated on his paper.

"A Consort that you now owe a disbursement to and most importantly, the Rukongai District teahouse files. If it weren't for my strategic solution, the Kuchiki name would have never even been involved with the Auris clan and the imperial palace. Don't I deserve some recognition?" She asked calmly with the same smirk on her face.

"Now that's interesting, you believe you are the sole reason why the Kuchiki name is associated with the imperial palace. How strange of you to talk when your assignment is yet to be completed." Byakuya said with his eyes still focused away from the dark pools she had as eyes.

"I do. But perhaps, you need a bit more convincing after three long years." She said with her eyes tracing his jawline and muscular figure. "As for the assignment, I have found out the dowry payment the Auris Elders have made to the Kuchiki Elders in order to seal the agreement."

"I do not care about the money offered, what's important is the _samurai_ division that is controlled by the Emperor. Have you found their history yet or perchance the documents of each _samurai_?"

"The documents analyzing each _samurai_ 's background is in the possession of the Empress you're set to marry, the same Empress who paid quite a massive amount of money to have you become her man." Her voice grew an octave high as she smiled with humor.

He continued to write. "As I said, I do not care about the money offered. As for the documents, I expect you to receive them tonight at the palace."

"You're allowing me to go?" She asked as she tilted her head to the right to see the entirety of his face. She wasn't the least bit surprised at his assignment but she was never the type to leave him in peace.

"You are a Consort of the imperial palace, you are required to attend regardless of my orders or not. I expect to receive all the documents regarding the thirteen divisions by tomorrow."

"And if I get caught?" Byakuya closed his eyes to hint that he was losing his patience with her. He knew that she was only teasing him so that he'd look her in her eyes or at least amuse her more with his words. The fact is: Consort Jiahao was not a woman to be trusted by anyone. Not only was she suppose to be a trustworthy Consort of the imperial palace but she was also suppose to be loyal to her Lady, Empress Shiba-Auris. She was a snake. But of course with a face as beautiful as hers, who would know?

Byakuya decided that the only way to rid himself of her presence was to look at her and voice his final order. His eyes reopen to reveal startling grey and a face lacking emotion and fear as he turned to face the woman known as Consort Jiahao, a strategist and Consort of the imperial palace. Crimson red tainted her lips as dangling red and gold jewelry embellished her hair and ears. Her smirk maintained as she lowered her eyes and nodded to display a bow.

"If you by chance get caught by the imperial palace while completing my task, you will die at their hands without the hope of being saved."

"How predictable of you, however I never asked to be saved. In fact, if I am to die at the hands of the imperial palace I'll make sure to tell them to slice my head off and send it to you." The smirk remained.

"Do what you please, but do not forget—I will not care."

"Care if you will, it does not bother me. I just want to see the expression on the Empress' face when her husband receives the head of one of her Consorts, that is all I please."

"Do what you will, however I expect to see you by the Empress' side when the Elders meet."

"Why? Because you're afraid of the face you might see when you do?" She asked with a smile. She knew what she was doing, in fact she knew what it would do to Byakuya. The Empress' face was indeed an interesting attribute of her figure. If Consort Jiahao wasn't such a deceitful person she would've told Byakuya prior to the dinner that the Empress was an exact look-a-like of his late wife. But of course, she wanted to give him a little surprise. After all, she wasn't devoted to anyone nor was she interested in his personal matters.

"My personal matters are not of any concern to you. Dismiss yourself and prepare for the dinner." Byakuya said with his eyes turned away and back onto his paper.

" _Diamyo_ Kuchiki, if you are to marry Empress Shiba-Auris, don't you think she'll be a good little play-toy for you to use in the time being? It's been almost five years since the death of Lady Hisa—"

" _Silence._ " He ordered as she pressed her lips into a thin line.

He narrowed his eyes at her at the mention of his late wife.

"I will not repeat myself, Consort Jiahao do as you're told and dismiss yourself from the Kuchiki land, I wish to be left in peace." He said as he vigorously began to write onto the paper on his desk with eyebrows furrowing in concentration and control.

She sighed at his order and slowly stood up with her hands in the formal aristocratic position before bowing with the same smirk remaining on her face. "As you wish, _Diamyo_ Kuchiki."

And with that, she parted the _shōji_ and disappeared into the night.

* * *

She gulped slowly as the carriage came to an erupt stop as well as the feet of the _samurai_ division behind it.

He was here—it was finally happening. Rukia felt her breath cut short as she saw the door open of the ornate carriage. She didn't think it would be so soon. The past four days had went quicker than she had first assumed and now, it was happening—the Kuchikis were actually here and frankly, she wasn't too happy.

She moved away from the window and headed towards the door of the fitting room and pulled it open. Outside, stood the 8th Division's guards securing the area as the Lord of the division and Lady Nanao were spotted from afar. Both of their attention shifted to the Empress as she walked towards them elegantly and softly.

"Lord Kyoraku." She acknowledged before bowing, which he so happily returned. He gently held her right hand and bent to kiss the palm before releasing his grip and straightening his posture.

"Well look at you, Empress Shiba-Auris, this Kuchiki Byakuya certainly is lucky." Kyoraku Shunsui said as he stared down at the petite beauty. A faint crimson blush rose on her cheeks as she smiled.

"Thank you, Lord Kyoraku—I hope he thinks so too." And she wasn't lying about that last comment. "Is it alright if I borrow Lady Nanao for a few seconds?" She asked sincerely.

"Sure, go ahead she's been stressing all day about that _kabuki_ performance set for tonight and that love anthology I pinned up on the board about us becoming a couple—she deserves some fun." Lord Kyoraku said calmly as he took a sip of his _sake_.

"Sir, I don't believe that would be appropriate since we only have one full day left until the wedding and I still have to organize the procedures of the second wedding. And now, because of _you_ I have to go around telling people that we are _not_ a married couple because of that ridiculous anthology you put up. I don't know how much times I have to say this, but there will never be any type of romantic relationship between us." Lady Nanao said in a huff as she stared at the Lord.

"Well, Nanao you could've said that a bit nicer so you wouldn't hurt my feelings." Lord Kyoraku said as he pouted down at his Lieutenant who stood boldly with her jade _kimono_. He turned back to the Empress once he sensed her discomfort. "Sorry for making you uncomfortable, Empress Shiba-Auris, Nanao has her moments but we get along just fine."

She sighed. "Never mind him, let's go Empress Rukia." She said as she moved to the Empress' side. They both bowed respectfully before walking away. "Now don't have too much fun without me, Nanao." Lord Kyoraku called as they began to walk away.

She huffed, "I wouldn't dream of it."

The two women departed from the wide open hall and entered a hollow corridor. Rukia stopped in her place before turning around to face her Lady.

"Is there something wrong Empress Rukia?" Nanao asked as her face morphed into an expression of concern as the Empress looked at her with slightly crimson eyes.

"I don't why, but I feel kind of...scared." Rukia whispered as her hands fidgeted slightly. All she needed was a word of advice that guaranteed her survival downstairs. She didn't know where this random feeling had come from but she did not like it at all.

Why was she so afraid?

"It's okay to be a little scared. After all, you are meeting him for the first time." Nanao said softly as the Empress nodded her head with a panicked expression.

Rukia recalled the memory of her body draped in a light pink _kimono_ at the delicate age of fourteen. She had been so young then, so unsure of everything but her knowledge to rule. Kaien was older than her, but he never made her feel so meek or afraid. And based on what the Elders had told her before, Kuchiki Byakuya was younger than Kaien, but was still older than her by a few years. And yet, even with a man younger than her late husband awaiting her downstairs, she felt very...unsafe.

"I think you're just worried because you're trying to make a commitment and you're not sure if he's willing to make one as well, correct? You let go of Lord Kurosaki because you didn't want to shame him nor bring any disgrace to your clan, correct? All of your intentions are strictly for the sake of others and that's how you will get through this dinner and this marriage." Nanao said before gently putting her hand on the Empress' shoulder. "Listen, you can do this. All you have to do is sit and eat dinner. It's the performers that will entertain the entire thing, not you or the Kuchiki clan. The _kabuki_ performance is set to happen tonight and the musicians have composed a list of pieces that they will perform during the dinner. You have nothing to worry about, Empress Rukia, I promise."

"Whether he makes a commitment or not, I am still his soon-to-be wife, right? The Auris clan will not be disgraced nor will Ichigo have to deal with an aristocratic lover who's incapable of loving him, openingly." She said.

"Exactly. And besides, whether he's willing to make a commitment or not, you only need him as an ornament, not a man to love. And if all works out well, who knows? You've been so absent from the moonlight that you've forgotten every time a flower blooms, it grows." Lady Nanao said as a servant rushed past then nervously with a few golden trays.

"You're absolutely right." Rukia said with her first genuine smile as she turned her attention to the copper-haired servant who was nervously approaching her and Lady Nanao with a _washi_ folded in her hands.

"E-Empress Shiba-Auris, the E-Elders have requested your presence downstairs. The K-Kuchiki clan is awaiting your presence." The servant said with her head lowered and body shaking slightly. Rukia looked back at Lady Nanao who gave her a reassuring nod before returning them to the shaking girl in front of her.

"Of course, I assume my Ladies, Consorts, and guards are ready." Rukia said softly to the frightened servant who let strands of her copper-coloured hair block her pale face.

"Y-Yes, the 3rd Division are already downstairs and a-are waiting to escort you down." She said softly with a small smile towards the caring Empress.

And suddenly, her violet eyes widened in a moment of surprise, horror, and frustration as the servant voiced the division she did not want to hear. "Wait a minute, the _3_ _rd_ Division is escorting me down?! _"_

She gulped nervously before meeting Nanao's eyes with a certain frustration and guilt knotted in between. The servant looked up at the Empress feeling worried as if she had done something wrong, but the Empress' eyes were far too concentrated at something else as the words repeated itself in her mind.

 _Ichigo, what the hell are you doing?_

* * *

The elegant and dispassionate _Diamyo_ , Kuchiki Byakuya stepped out of the Kuchiki carriage with his eyes concentrated on the entrance to the ornamental Jade Hall. He observed the inclusion of jade merged with designs of sakura petals that adorned the Jade Hall. Guards holding torches of fire aligned the area as the stairs covered with a sheet of white plum blossoms delicately.

A Lord that was no less than four feet suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs. His hair was sliver-white and his eyes were turquoise and filled with silent anger. His figure appeared very mature, despite his age and size although Byakuya could not bring himself to judge the short Lord as he approached them and bowed.

"Welcome to the imperial palace, I am Lord Hitsugaya—leader of the 10th Division under the Emperor and Empress. Follow me and I'll lead you to the Jade Hall." He ordered with serious turquoise eyes before turning around and allowing his moss-green scarf and faded turquoise _hakama_ to blow behind him slightly as he lead the Kuchiki clan up the stairs.

As the Head of the Kuchiki clan, he stood in the middle with the Elders beside him as they walked up the four stairs and entered the grand Jade Hall. The broad and jade corridor that lead to the open spaced hall was already adorned with riches and paintings, it made him wonder if the Auris clan had purposely decorated the Jade Hall with their finest paintings for him or were they always present whether he was here or not.

Regardless, he knew their efforts were being wasted on such cheap bribery since he was already engaged to the Empress, herself and no amount of decoration or riches could bribe him to accept it. The white-haired boy known as Lord Hitsugaya walked several steps in front of him and remained as silent as the wind. The sound of music and bodies of nobles suddenly engulfed his atmosphere as the dancing subsided and the men and women bowed.

From far he could spot the accursed eyes of Consort Jiahao, watching him from the top of the curved stairs as the band of musicians lined up to summon the Empress' awaiting entrance that he could care less about to see.

If only this celebratory dinner could be finished faster.

* * *

"Are you sure it is the 3rd Division that is escorting my Lady down?" Nanao asked curiously as the purple eyes of the Empress glared.

"Y-Yes, Lord Kurosaki was able to convince Lord Ukitake to withdraw from your order, Empress Shiba-Auris. The 13th Division are currently circulating the area outside the western side of the palace so they will not be joining you at dinner."

"May I speak to Lord Kurosaki for a second?" Rukia asked in disbelief and impatience.

"I'm afraid not, Empress Shiba-Auris. The Auris Elders are impatiently waiting for your arrival, your entrance cannot be delayed."

"And who told you that?" Nanao questioned the copper-haired girl.

"Lord Kurosaki, your highness. We must go Empress Shiba-Auris before the Elders lose their patience." She pleaded worryingly as Rukia glanced from Nanao to the young girl in front of her.

"Agreed." She muttered as she lead herself out the hollow corridor with Lady Nanao a step behind her and the servant a few steps further. She gritted her teeth as she made a turn into the palace grand stairs.

"Empress Shiba-Auris." Lieutenant Kira greeted with a respective bow along with the guards that were placed in a parallel line to the pillars. She gently smiled in return as Lady Rangiku, Momo, Iri, and Nanao assembled into a group behind her along with three Consorts and four guards standing behind them.

"I'm sorry that we didn't inform you about this earlier, Empress Shiba-Auris. My Lord told me to inform you when it was time." Izuru said with his posture low and a lazy reply.

"Where is he?" She questioned out loud with a tone that came out harsher than expected.

"He's at the main stairs with the other guards. We'll be joining him shortly once we reach there." Lieutenant Kira informed before the remaining guards placed themselves to the side of Empress Rukia but at a few steps down.

"Y-You're g-going to be fine, Rukia!" Lady Momo said quickly before they came closer to the curved stairs.

"Yeah, Momo's right. It's going to be perfect!" Lady Rangiku said with a smile as Lady Iri nodded.

"I hope." Rukia breathed as she stared down at the curved staircase. With a few nervous breaths, she began to walk down the stairs with her Ladies and remaining guards following from behind. The closer she got, the more the feeling of uneasiness trapped itself in her body. Her heart was beating faster and with each step her anxiety increased. But she didn't understand, why was she so nervous?

 _'He'll throw you under the tables before you can even step on the floor. He'll have mistresses, visit brothels_ — _even bring one of them into your room. Is that really what you want, Rukia?'_

Ichigo's voice made her face fall because what if he was right? What if Kuchiki Byakuya was like that after all?

 _I heard he's a great samurai warrior as well as the Head of the Kuchiki clan._

But then again, what if he was wrong? What if Kuchiki Byakuya was different from all the other _diamyos_ out there?

What does he look like?

How does he sound?

Does he want to get married too?

She mentally shook her head at her own foolishness. Of course he would want this—he was going to become Emperor, who wouldn't want that type of power? Everything nowadays was about social position, wealth, and power—he would be a fool to deny such an opportunity.

This was more beneficial to him than it was for her.

What did she get? An heir? Another ruler? None of those things would benefit her the way it was going to benefit him. She didn't believe she was being selfish but rather, she was being fair.

"Damn, it seems like they're standing right in the middle." Rangiku said as she tried to peer down at the crowd below her with her lengthy height from the corner of the stair's railing.

"That's expected, Rangiku. They are _diamyos_ and Rukia's soon-to-be family. I believe the Auris Elders want Empress Rukia to be the first person Kuchiki Byakuya sees." Nanao said in response.

"I can't do this." She whispered as they reached the final step of the curved stairs. As she finally reached the bottom of the stairs, her purple eyes met the first eyes she didn't want to see before being escorted down to meet her future husband.

"Ichigo." She stated seriously as he appeared next to her as the main stairs was placed further down to the enormous audience waiting below. He turned to face her with an unreadable expression, maybe expressing bitterness or conflicting pain.

"Empress Shiba-Auris," He began formally before respectfully bowing at her presence and it _burned_.

"You defied my orders." She stated formally with her eyes and tongue holding back the emotions and words she truly wanted to say.

"I stepped in because Lord Ukitake was feeling ill." He retorted.

"How sweet of you." She replied sarcastically as he walked a few steps in front of her to lead her to the main stairs. And the closer she got to the edge of the main stairs where everyone would see her face, the more anxiety and worry took over her.

And now, Ichigo slowly but gently extended his hand. She stared at him with a cold expression before staring at his palm that was patiently waiting for hers to touch. But no—she couldn't do this. She told herself she would let go of his hand and here she was preparing herself to walk down these final stairs with her hand in the very person's hand she was avoiding.

 _"Ichigo_." She said in a warning tone as she stared from the palm of his hand to his troubling eyes.

"This my duty and it has always been _my_ duty. Lord Ukitake isn't here, Rukia. This duty belongs to _me_."

"Ichigo, _please_ —don't do anything you'll regret." She said as her final words towards him before he would escort her down the stairs.

"Trust me, I don't plan on doing anything..." He said before turning away from her to look down at what would soon be the crowd. " _As of yet_." He finished, but she didn't hear him.

The sound of the _shamisen_ summoning her appearance sang in her ears and now her hand gently slid onto the palm of Ichigo's hand — _barely_ touching it so she wasn't going against any of the rules she had set for herself in the first place. But even so, a small part of her still yearned for his touch and she hated it. _Loathed_ the feeling of needing him all over again even after a simple touch.

Lady Rangiku and Iri handed her the decorative rounded fan that she used to slightly conceal her face. She gently clutched the handle with her right hand and rose it closer to her face. With her hand delicately touching Ichigo's and the loud noises of the crowd beginning to fade, this was her moment. This was her moment to shine momentarily and hopefully blind everyone's eyes momentarily as well.

 _Breathe, Rukia. Breathe._

And finally, she allowed herself to step into the light and watch the torches immerse flames of light and eyes gaze at her with enchantment and respect as her hand gently touched the warrior beside her.

 _This is it._

And now the entire image before her became clear. The Auris Elders were neatly standing in a line besides the enormous staircase with their most expensive _kimonos_ and jewelry.

Despite all the eyes and the breathes of astonishment, the only pair of eyes Rukia seemed to notice or even care about were the steel grey predator eyes watching her emotionlessly with a stern and dangerous glare. And boy, if those were the eyes that were suppose to belong to a soon-to-be-married man, she wasn't looking forward to the type of eyes she would see when he would become one.

* * *

He wasn't paying attention.

There was no doubt that he hated social events because of his own incapability of conversing with people. In fact, the prestige _samurai_ warrior was so unsociable, that a mere utter of two words would be considered a whole sentence to him in the running. And while the people surrounding him conversed loudly, he found himself staring at the enormous hall themed with jade.

His own secluded passion for art hid itself in his eyes to block the amazement he refused to show as he focused impassively at the art.

And suddenly—the Empress' grand entrance summoned his attention from the piece of art to the main stairs where guards aligned and heavy footsteps were heard coming from the top. Following the Elders, he stood in a straight line and respectfully awaited her presence, despite the fact he held no interest in her or her arrival. But it was the sense of respect and duty that he carried so heavily on his shoulders that reminded him about his honor and most importantly, his pride.

He glanced at the top of the stairs as a body of a warrior with blinding orange hair appeared shortly with his right hand extended to hold the hand of another who was unrecognizable as the blinding light above their figures blurred their vision momentarily. And as the spot of blinding light disappeared, he focused his eyes to see the group standing at the top of the stairs.

From far, he could identify four ladies draped with jade _kimonos_ with a thick green designed _obi_ and white designs at the bottom of it. They all appeared to be the Empress' loyal Ladies—or so, he assumed or could. And as the blinding light finally faded away and Byakuya could finally focus on something besides the warrior's orange hair, and...he saw _her_.

A petite figure.

Standing at the edge of the stairs with her hand slightly holding the warrior beside her.

Her hair was let down, but was designed with a bridal hairpiece in jade. The beautiful masterpiece of flowers rested on the top of her hair before cascading down the sides of her face in dangling silver chains.

And he could've sworn he was having another illusion of the same porcelain face that haunted his dreams. But _this_ wasn't a dream. This was reality, and the woman standing on the top of the stairs was not the woman he wanted it to be. It was someone else.

His veins went cold.

He was never a man to show any emotion but as the image became even more clearer and he could finally see the full vibrancy of plum eyes staring with a wistful smile, Byakuya's face morphed into an expression of temporary shock as he stared at what was suppose to be the Empress he was set to marry.

His cold eyes narrowed at the figure standing at the top of the stairs. He was quick to hide his expression of shock before anyone surrounding him noticed as he closed his eyes momentarily and reopened them to focus on the Empress' image again. And as soon as he did, he regretted it almost instantly.

Not only was he staring at a woman who looked exactly like his late wife, but the woman was staring back at him with bright purple eyes. And for a split second he believed she was the reincarnation of Hisana—or even better, Hisana's ghost trapped in her look-alike's body. It was too strange and most importantly, too shocking to see a woman look so similar to his Hisana—to _his_ late wife.

But this wasn't his Hisana. She was merely just a replacement—a look-alike of the woman he loved. There was nothing in her eyes that displayed any type of frailty or weakness and he hated it. She was not his Hisana. Because his Hisana was never like that—filled with so much vibrancy and hidden hope.

His icy glare must've been startling because the woman's expression immediately faded into something colder.

Their gaze never left.

In fact, it stayed intact as she walked down the stairs with the warrior guiding her down.

Her eyes were also threatening.

Her hand slid off the warrior's hand who was equally giving him a murderous glare before glancing at the Empress momentarily and stepping away. He could feel the tension in the air as the Auris Elders gathered in a line with her as they took a few steps closer to him and his clan.

The Auris Elders and the Empress bowed in respect before he and his clan bowed in return before his gaze returned to the petite Empress who kept her indescribable gaze intact.

"Empress Shiba-Auris, it is a pleasure to finally meet you in person, my dear." Said the eldest Elder of the Kuchiki Clan, Kuchiki Sjihiro as she softly smiled at him with a small nod. "I've heard great things about your accomplishments as the Head _onna-bugeisha_ of the female _samurai_ division, you must be proud."

"Thank you, Elder Kuchiki Sjihiro—it is a pleasure to meet you as well. Welcome to the Shiba-Auris imperial palace, I believe your stay here will be very welcoming." The Empress said with her eyes focused on his great uncle. His gaze never left the petite woman who softly smiled as the Kuchiki Elders expressed great interest in her being. And her voice...it was so different from Hisana's. Because Hisana's voice was never like that. Powerful and strong—even warrior-like.

"Ah yes, it is as beautiful as Ginrei had disclosed. I believe the Western and Eastern gardens are my favorite places so far." Sjihiro said to the Empress who expressed delight in his reply. And he hated it. _Loathed_ the spark that shimmered in her eyes. It had been a rare spectrum to see when his late wife was alive.

"Mine as well, however the Eastern gardens no longer belong to me as they are now in the name of the Kuchiki clan." She said with that same spark illuminating in her eyes.

Their eyes met and her smile (fortunately) faded away into the same coldness he had seen her harbor during the walk down the stairs. They were frozen in spot with eyes that could cut steel and neither one of them could afford to lose such a petty competition.

"Empress Shiba-Auris, I'd like you to meet _shogun_ Kuchiki Ginrei's grandson—Kuchiki Byakuya, your fiance and future reigning Emperor." Sjihiro introduced as he turned his head towards him, but his gaze never left hers. He was staring at her. The gaze was so intense that it didn't fail to go unnoticed to the other people surrounding them.

He closed his eyes to avoid seeing her face before speaking.

"I ascertain you were not aware of my appearance before my arrival since you appear startled by my demeanor." Byakuya said with his eyes closed and face emotionless.

" _Hai,_ I was unaware of your appearance _Diamyo_ Kuchiki—my sincere apologies for offending you." He heard her say as his vision remained dark.

Her voice.

It was so different...so strange.

Even her vocabulary was different and yet he couldn't bring himself to open his eyes.

"I am not offended, you may pardon your worries." He said shortly after her response of apology. He didn't understand why he was still talking and frankly, he wished it would stop.

" _Arigatou_." He heard her say before his great uncle passed him the betrothal gift.

Slowly, he wordlessly extended his hand to offer the packaged gift with metallic green paper into the Empress' tiny hands. He could feel her tiny fingers meet with his slightly before receiving the gift that he assumed she gave to her great uncle, Auris Naosuke to hold as she received her own.

His hand that was still extended was soon filled with the presence of a box and the absence of her fingers meeting his again. He took the box and handed it to his great uncle before returning to his straightened position.

" _Arigatou_ , _Diamyo_ Kuchiki for your generosity. I believe the dinner will be most successful." She said with a softened expression that the _samurai_ couldn't not see.

"You do." It wasn't a question, just a statement.

" _Hai_ , the servants have spent days trying to organize this event. Some of the most delicious sweets and Japanese cuisine have been prepared to honor the Kuchiki clan." She said shyly.

"I am not fond of sweets." He stated coldly in order to dull the Empress' hopeful mood.

"Oh..." Her voice faded away. "M-My deepest apologies, _Diamyo_ Kuchiki I was not made aware that you were not fond of sweets."

"It does not matter." He said as she lowered her head before meeting his darkened eyes.

And in that last moment before they were about to depart to begin dinner, he opened his eyes one last time to see shyly looking down and allowing her Ladies to bow and guide her away from him as the Elders of the Auris clan engaged in a brief conversation with the Kuchiki Elders. He watched her disappear to her seat on the ground.

And as the crowd behind her scattered with guards returning to their positions and the wives of _diamyos_ disappeared to their seats, he saw the watchful eyes of the same orange-haired warrior he had spotted before—fury within his brown eyes, but he couldn't bring himself to care about what the warrior's wordless threat meant or was motivated by. In fact, he simply turned around and walked away to his designated spot with cold eyes and an apathetic aura—leaving the warrior to stare from behind in peace.

* * *

Rukia was still not fully recovered from her first sighting of her soon-to-be husband. Perhaps she would never recover after their uncomfortable meeting that had happened shortly before. He was so cold, so handsome, so arrogant...he was everything the servants had described him to be and strangely, she wasn't disappointed.

She knew she felt something strange when they had first locked eyes. The way how he had stared at her was far from enchantment or allurement. In fact, it looked like he was ready to kill her before she had even made a proper step into the lighting.

His words and tone were so formal and deep. It was a voice she could definitely get used too but the arrogance? It would take more than adaptation to his nature to suppress the rise of anger she felt when men as arrogant as him spoke so insolently. It was more than irritating, it was absolutely _infuriating_ but to express respect, she had suppressed it.

And last but not least, the handsomeness she had overheard the servants gossiping about in the kitchen and yards—it was _true_. He was indeed, handsome. His ink-black hair framed his face with tendrils that she couldn't help but admire with gold hair pieces attached at the back of his head. His tall and muscular figure made her feel like an ant in comparison to his tall and broad figure but she didn't mind at all. In fact, in a rare moment of self-doubt and insecurity, she felt self-conscious when his eyes finally stared down to meet hers. And she hated it. _Loathed_ the feeling of being so weak and unsure. If only the feeling could be obliterated any sooner so she could talk without stuttering.

"He sure is handsome, don't you think Empress Rukia?" Rangiku whispered into Rukia's ears as she sat down on the cushion to prepare for dinner. Rangiku and Momo sat behind her and Nanao and Iri sat beside her. "Don't you regret not wearing that _kimono_ I made for you, now?"

She blushed.

"Rangiku!" Nanao said in a hushed tone.

"You know it's the truth, Nanao. If he's anything like those predator eyes he was giving you before Rukia, imagine him in bed." She whispered which caused Rukia's face to turn red.

"R-Rangiku is r-right, he seems to r-really like you." Momo said in a quieter tone.

"What makes you think that?" Rukia asked.

"He kept staring at you." Iri said.

"He looked like he wanted to kill me." Rukia said in response.

"If you ask me, he looked like he wanted to pin you down on his b—"

"M-Maybe he was just enchanted by your beauty, Empress Rukia. A-After you all, you are very beautiful." Momo said.

" _Arigatou_ , Momo but he was hardly giving me the look of astonishment."

"That's what _you_ think! Forgive me, Empress Rukia but he was gawking at you. Astonishment or not, he couldn't keep his eyes away from you." Iri said.

"I don't know, Lady Iri. That look of his...it didn't really feel... _pleasant_."

"As a prestige _samurai_ warrior, Head of a noble clan, and future Emperor of this society, he's bound to be a little cold. After all, Empress Rukia you _are_ always like that when it comes to politics and training—it's apart of your nature to be cold. You both are prestigious rulers, it is prohibited to show emotion in the presence of strangers or other clans." Nanao reasoned which visibly made her feel better.

"Nanao's right, it's always been like that here. I'm positive that there's another side to him, just like there is another side to you." Rangiku said reassuringly with her hand resting on her shoulder.

"Y-Yeah!"

"You're right." Rukia said with a soft smile. "I'm so sorry about all of this. I just don't understand what's going on with me. I just feel so...so.. _.scared_."

"It's okay, we understand." Iri said calmly.

"Yeah, don't worry Empress Rukia. What are friends for!" Rangiku said spiritedly as a number of servants entered the Red Hall and displayed portions of food in front the Kuchiki clan and the Auris clan. Lanterns hung brightly at the ceiling as Rukia stared down at the food she had been provided. The chatter of others managed to overlap the music as the _kabuki_ performers prepared for their performance.

Her eyes briefly looked up to spot where Ichigo had gone—worrying about his determined nature and uncontrollable desire to protect her. Unfortunately, he was nowhere in sight—making her wonder where he had disappeared to.

And as she looked around to spot his strikingly bright hair, she felt an ominous presence stare at her intensely and she knew exactly who it was.

* * *

This woman...He did not understand how anyone could be capable of having such a resemblance to another person.

Were they related?

Did Hisana know her?

Who was she?

He knew this was more than just a mere coincidence. It did not make sense. If Hisana had not died right in front of him, he would've mistook the Empress as her. But it wasn't...

She was not Hisana—she could never be. This woman was something else.

They weren't even married yet and he despised the thought even more.

She looked down at her food shortly before looking up to scan the room.

She was looking for someone.

Another Lady perhaps?

But no. When she had walked down, the four Ladies that were standing behind her were sitting behind her now. And the Consorts followed from behind.

He suddenly remembered the brightly-haired warrior that had escorted down. Was _he_ the one she was searching for? After their threatening eye encounter, the warrior had disappeared and peacefully left him alone with his watchful glare.

He was aware the Empress had personal guards that protected her and were closer to her than the thirteen Divisions. The man appeared to be a Lord—possibly a Lord of one of the divisions that protected the Empress which is why she was looking for him.

And as her eyes searched for the guard she wanted to see, she froze in place with her eyes meeting his narrowed eyes. He hadn't realized that his staring had been caught until she gulped with eyes that shuddered slightly at his sight.

He didn't know what he saw in her eyes, but the ominous presence buried deep within them wasn't something he could bring himself to ignore. But when her irises began to look hopeful, he bitterly closed his eyes and turned away as the _kabuki_ performers entered the large space in the Jade Hall.

* * *

"Empress Shiba-Auris, is something wrong?" Asked the servant who bent down to take out food for the Empress.

"No, not at all. May I just have two _onigiri_? I'm not really that hungry." She said softly to the servant who nodded her head and stood up to go and retrieve the food.

 _Ichigo, where the hell are you?_

* * *

The woman sitting in front of him was awfully strange. Instead of choosing the lavish and designed food conceived by the Head cook, the Empress chose rice balls as a more suitable and filling meal. She certainly retained some abnormal qualities that Byakuya could not help to ignore.

 _She eats commoner food and allows her Ladies to go first..._

This woman was certainly different in comparison to the other high-in-status rulers he had met before. She didn't appear to be bothered by the lack of nobility her Ladies harbored or even worried about appearing Lady-like at all. In fact, her eyes were more focused on searching for another person then the clan sitting right in front of her.

He closed his eyes as he took a sip of his green tea.

She took the rice ball in her right hand and stuffed a piece of it into her mouth before calmly watching the _kabuki_ performers arrive. He reopened his eyes as the sound of music filled the chatters surrounding them and ears as the performers arrived. The young Empress stared in concentration and astonishment as the musical-drama began with the remaining _onigiri_ in her hand.

It was like her eyes were getting brighter per second as the performance continued. She was far too distracted to notice the lone grain of rice that graced her face near the corner of her mouth as she continued to take small bites of the commoner's piece.

And as he watched her erupt in contentment at the performance, he imagined her as Hisana— _his_ Hisana, because Hisana never looked like that—so content and erupted with joy. The endless frings of her ink hair, kind eyes, and small smile clouded his misty eyes—allowing him to remain at peace as he stared at the woman who looked so much alike his late wife.

And suddenly, her head turned to face him before looking straight into his clouded eyes—he could already see the small specks of crimson that graced her cheeks along with the lone grain of rice that remained on her face. In an attempt to remove it, he wordlessly handed her a napkin, causing her to look down with eyes displaying confusion.

He closed his eyes as he spoke to display his lack of interest. "It appears you have food stuck on your face. Remove it at once, before you are seen—it does not look good on the Auris clan's image."

She remained silent at his order before reaching out her fingers to clasp the cloth.

He felt her fingers pry the napkin out of his hand before removing the slight contact it had with his.

She remained restrained throughout the entire process and remained so even after. And strangely...it made Byakuya _glad_.

But as the silence continued and the strained discomfort remained, the talkless pair felt nothing more but resentment to each other and the silence they could do nothing to erase.

* * *

As the _kabuki_ performance came to an end, Rukia devoured the last portion of _onigiri_ on her plate before admiring the last portion of the concluding performance. The Kuchiki clan seemed most impressed by the performance—or so she assumed, their faces were as cold as icebergs. However, they appeared invested in the performance throughout the dinner.

She clapped and bowed her head to the entertainers as they left the area and a crowded audience behind.

The Auris Clan and the Kuchiki Clan stood up at the same time and bowed from a distance as the servants arrived to collect all the leftovers and empty plates. Empress Rukia lead her Ladies away to the corner of the Jade Hall that was near a corridor that was hidden at the edge.

"Empress Shiba-Auris," Called a familiar voice that caused Rukia to turn her attention to the left.

"Lieutenant Kira." Rukia acknowledged as he slightly bowed to her with his eyes closed before reopening them to meet her eyes.

"I'm sorry to intrude but Lord Hitsugaya would like to discuss where Kuchiki Byakuya's _samurai_ division should report to. He'd like to speak to you in person before the tour begins." He said before Rukia nodded her head in agreement.

"I'll be right back." She whispered to her Ladies before turning her attention to the left that lead to the corridor that was placed past the main stairs and in the very corner of the Jade Hall. She walked ahead of him until she reached the broad opening to see that it was strangely unguarded and empty. She turned around to ask Lieutenant Kira why the area wasn't guarded but he hadn't been following. He had disappeared with the crowd and she was now left alone to walk in the empty corridor.

She peaked in slowly and then began to walk. Lanterns that emitted pure white light made the hall brighter than any other hall in the palace.

 _Why isn't this place guarded?_

 _This is one of the most easiest pathways to enter the Red Hall. Who would be stupid enough to leave this place unguarded like this?_

 _And why does Lord Hitsugaya want to talk to me in person? I could've just voiced an order to Lieutenant Kira and he'd get the message on what to do_ — _so why?_

Silence filled the entire room—not a footstep, not a breath, not a creak. It was all too strange for her liking.

She turned her attention to the right side of the hall that had three small doors that were widely divided with big spaces in between. The placement of everything was in order, but the absence of guards worried her to the point where she was mentally contemplating whether to go back.

And suddenly, her arm was yanked into the first door of the room causing her eyes to widened as the door slammed shut. She voiced noises of struggle and determination as the self-defense skills she was an expert at kicked in. A hand covered her mouth as she struggled to release its powerful grip. Before she could deliver her signature kick, the hand was removed. The person released their harsh grip on her wrist immediately before the light in the room, flickered on.

She gulped nervously as she stared up at the figure that had yanked her into the room. The figure was a man who was none other than Ichigo himself with a deadpan expression on his face and his muscular figure blocking the door.

"Ichigo." She acknowledged with an unreadable tone as she took a few steps back with worried eyes. The perfect strand of hair that parted between her eyes was now disarranged and her _kimono_ was now slightly ruffled at the bottom with slight creases after her minor struggle to be released.

"I was right. That bastard is nothing more than the arrogant _diamyo_ I thought he'd be."

"You don't know that. This is our first time meeting him, Ichigo what did you expect? This is a political marriage, not a marriage out of love." Rukia argued.

"He looked like he wanted to kill you, Rukia. Even _you_ could sense it."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She lied.

" _You do,_ Rukia. You do. Stop lying to me like it's the most naturalist fucking thing on Earth."

"Ichigo! I don't know what you're talking about."

"You were staring at him for a good ten fucking minutes, you know what I'm talking about."

"I was not! And how would you know what I was doing when you weren't even there."

"I was there, Rukia. Right behind you but you didn't seem to notice. You were too busy gawking at your new fiance to worry about me."

"Fool, I was searching for you but you disappeared!"

"I left because I was disgusted."

"By him or me?"

" _Both._ "

"Ichig—"

"You can't seriously want to marry him, Rukia. He's just like everyone said he'd be. Cold, rude, arrogant. What could you possibly want from a guy like that?"

"Nothing, Ichigo! I want nothing! I thought we were past this. This marriage is compulsory, when will you understand that?"

"I understand that, I just don't understand this." He said as he stared down at her.

"Understand what?"

"Did you see your face when you first looked into his eyes?" He asked in a lower tone causing her to blink in surprise.

"It was only for a second...but there was a spark, Rukia. A spark in your eyes that shoned with some type of hope, some type of resolve, and even if it lasted for a second, it wasn't directed at me...It was directed at _him_." She felt the need to apologize for allowing herself to show even the tiniest bit of emotion towards a man she didn't know and have Ichigo witness it all. It was disrespectful and most importantly, it hurt him.

"Ichigo...I didn't mean it like that." She spoke softly and chose her words carefully. "It's just...this is a new opportunity for me. And I guess I just wanted some type of hope that you were wrong about him and I was right. I didn't mean for it to come out as if I...wanted him or anything. It was completely misunderstood."

"And why are you so desperate for me to be wrong?"

"Because I want this to work, Ichigo. I want to _try_ to accept him, I want this to be different. If you were right, I'd live in an empty hole for the rest of my life. But if you were wrong..."

"He'd be the one to fill the empty space." He finished for her.

"I don't want us to become anything romantic. All I want is companionship, a _friend_. I'm not asking for love, sex, or anything in between—I don't want that, I don't _need_ that. If the Emperor and I could get along, maybe someone could fill that empty space. It doesn't mean he has to fill it with love or affection, I already have that—I already _had_ that with you and Kaien. Please don't mistaken my actions for betrayal, Ichigo. I don't want his love."

"And what about mine?"

"What if I turn out to be right and he has a mistress? What will you do with me, Rukia? Will you live like a useless wife and Empress or will you have the nerve to have an affair with me?" Ichigo questioned her causing her eyes to slightly widen. She lowered her eyes from his gaze and looked down.

"I don't know." She muttered. "I haven't thought about it because we don't know if you're right, Ichigo. And besides, I told you to let me go."

"Let me go, Ichigo." _Let me go_.

* * *

It didn't take long for him to notice that the Empress was absolutely nowhere in sight. In fact, she was gone—nowhere to be spotted or found. He scanned the group of her Ladies and maids running across the room, only to notice again that she was no longer in the Jade Hall.

He looked towards the main stairs to realize that the warrior was gone as well. Not that he cared—the warrior was highly irrelevant to this all. His feet began to move as he headed towards the end of the Jade Hall that was past the main stairs.

He didn't know where he was going, but he was sure he was bound to find out. He observed silently as he walked down the transitional hall.

It wasn't too long until the third door suddenly opened to reveal—the warrior. The Empress. Together. In a room. It wasn't scandalous enough to earn a reaction, but at least a watchful eye.

The Empress was the first one to come out. The strand parting through her eyes appeared disarranged and the edges of her _kimono_ suffered with creases and binds.

The warrior followed behind. His face expressed frustration but the gentle way he looked at the Empress told him everything he needed to know or wanted to see.

And as the warrior departed in the opposite direction, the Empress stood still with her head lowered. She hesitantly took a step forward until she saw him.

The _diamyo_ , Kuchiki Byakuya, staring right back at her.

* * *

 **End Note**

Please leave a review! I'm sorry for taking so long to update but my exams are finally done therefore, I have more time to write :)

 **Note:** To access **Images For This Chapter** go onto **kagomesangos Tumblr** and click The Emperor of Her Heart to view the images associated with this chapter and the rest.

 **Images For This Chapter**

Byakuya's Study

Consort Jiahao's Appearance

Lord Hitsugaya's Attire


	4. The Eastern Gardens

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach, Kubo Tite does because if I did, ByaRuki would be canon.

* * *

EDIT 03/02/17: Several scenes have been deleted for specific reasons I'll address on my next update.

* * *

 **The Eastern Gardens**

He had seen them.

Ichigo and her—together, _alone_ —in a _room._

She watched him turn around gracefully with his eyes closing in the process and leave as if it had never happened. She stood there—shocked and mildly offended by his response to her as if he didn't need any explanation regarding what he just saw. Regardless, she still tailed behind him in an attempt to clarify everything he just witnessed.

But the _diamyo_ appeared impartial to her attempts.

" _Diamyo_ Kuchiki..." She said slowly as she hastily tailed behind him to catch up with his speed. "What you just saw...it's not what you think at all. Ichigo is just a—"

"I do not need any clarification regarding your relationship with the warrior." He interrupted smoothly before she could even finish her last sentence.

"My deepest apologies, _Diamyo_ Kuchiki. Lord Kurosaki just wanted to disc—"

"I said, I do not need any clarification regarding your relationship with the warrior." He interrupted (again _)_. "It is of no concern to me about what you do in your spare time."

"But the Kuchiki Elders...I do not want them to misunderstand what you saw." She said slowly in hidden trauma. "It is my reputation at stake." She explained in a very serious tone.

And he stopped. "If you truly valued your reputation you would not be fooling around with peasant warriors from the lower class. As a woman with the highest noble-ranking status in the country, you have disgraced the honor and pride your family has so carefully acquired in the past hundred years."

"I'm sorry, but making assumptions about me isn't going to solve the issue that you clearly have misunderstood. Forgive me, _Diamyo_ Kuchiki but you have no right to comment about my reputation when you're basing it on facts that are far from true." And although she was upset at his senseless assumptions, she remained respectful to uphold her own respect and honor.

"I don't believe we _have_ an issue." He said with his eyes closed and back facing hers.

"We do." Empress Shiba-Auris said shortly."The issue _is_ , that you're making assumptions based on what you saw before asking for clarification or even listening to what I have to say."

"As I said before, I do not need any clarification regarding your relationship with the warrior. As for your accusation I never assumed that you were romantically involved with the warrior in the first place."

"Again, forgive me, _Diamyo_ Kuchiki but you clearly stated that if I truly cared about my reputation I wouldn't be fooling around with warriors from the lower class—which I am not."

"You misunderstood my intention. I was simply using the warrior as an example to display your lack of nobility and leadership. As a woman of a high-ranking status such as yours, you have disgraced yourself with your incapability of ruling without a husband."

She stepped back.

His ludicrous assumption instantaneously prompted an uncalled reaction.

"How dare you accuse me of being incapable of ruling without a husband? I was never in favor of this marriage from the beginning." She fired back.

"If you were truly capable of ruling without a husband you would not have spent thousands of _yen_ just to have an Emperor rule by your side. The absence of Shiba Kaien has truly displayed your true weakness."

 _Bastard_.

"How dare you mention my husband's name when your family name has never been suitable for the role?" She grew angry. "And how dare you accuse me of wasting money to obtain someone as powerless as you? Your assumptions, alone are disgraceful."

Byakuya silently growled before reopening his eyes that burned from silver to charcoal as he turned around with silent anger. His hand flew to clutch her wrist and tighten his grip on her hand as he stared down at the petite Empress.

The predator caught its prey.

"I strongly advise you to watch what you say to the Head of the Kuchiki clan. Your actions, alone may cost you your life." He warned with a serious tone that caused her to flinch momentarily.

"Are you threatening to kill me?" She questioned. Her small wrist remained tightened within his grasp.

"I am not implying anything of that sort, in fact I am simply warning you that your assumptions and actions are meaningless in this fight as you are in no position to argue with me or make comments about my clan." And she didn't reply. But deep down even _she_ could admit that a small wrench of fear flowered inside of her as she gulped nervously to hear the continuation of his own words. "Let me make myself very clear, I do not tolerate any comments regarding my clan and family name as it is of no concern to you nor will it ever be. As for your disposition, I strongly advise you to choose your words wisely as you will soon become the holder of the Kuchiki name and if you truly value your reputation as you claim, you will prove it with dignity and honor instead of involving yourself in petty arguments that are irrelevant to your family name."

He released his tightened grip and turned around. Her eyes shoned with defeat at his words but her mind refused to believe that she had lost anything. If she could, she would erase their entire interaction and resume to the hopeful state that she had once possessed before.

But she could no longer be hopeful, because Kuchiki Byakuya was everything the servants had depicted him to be.

An arrogant, cold, and senseless bastard that visibly cared about nobody but himself and family name.

Rukia felt like laughing. Laughing and crying at her own stupidity that had shined so brightly to the point where it had burnt her into dust.

But now she knew. She was marrying a man who was more arrogant than the Elders and clearly based everything he saw on assumptions. Assumptions that weren't true...assumptions that could be resolved...assumptions that could be lies.

* * *

Drawers and desks were opened and scattered as the mischievous consort searched the old study—belonging to Emperor Shiba Kaien—in search for the files of the division backgrounds that were tucked and hidden away from the palace's walls. After several minutes of searching, the files she had claimed she would possess by the end of the night were nowhere in sight.

However, the consort did not lose hope. They were hidden somewhere else...but where or with whom?

The door of the study remained shut, but from time to time footsteps would saunter up and down the secluded hall—inspiring an alert of panic inside the stomach of Consort Jiahao. Her finger left the edges of the last wrinkled file before closing the wooden drawer and standing up in frustration at her failure.

The consort moved her location towards the bookshelf that was placed in the corner of the room. Hundreds of thick books were placed side by side on the grubby shelf and had visibly been unused after the passing of Shiba Kaien. She inquired the shelf carefully before pulling out a book and flipping through the thin pages of old battle plans and scattered thoughts.

She was finally losing all sense of direction as she placed the book back into its spot before pulling out another and whisking through the pages. She furrowed her eyebrows in chagrin as she placed the book back into the shelf and pulled out another.

They were simply files based on the background of each division, why were they so heavily guarded? She pulled out another and then another as a new pair of footsteps entered her ears.

"Lord Kurosaki! Are you taking the night shift?" Yelled a voice that made her jump. And in her off-guarded state, she carelessly dropped the thick red book that remained in her right hand—earning the unwanted attention of the Lord outside.

With the fallen book and the rushed footsteps to the door, the consort had nowhere to run too and frankly, the unwanted help she wished Byakuya had endorsed during their meeting was more than needed and wanted in her current position.

She froze in her spot as the door flew open and the armed Lord Kurosaki entered the room with a deadpan glare.

"Lord Kurosaki." She acknowledged tensely with her hands forming the formal aristocratic position and a nervous smile. She bowed respectfully before meeting his eyes that expressed curiosity at her presence in Shiba Kaien's study.

"Consort Jiahao," He acknowledged in return before bowing. "Aren't you suppose to be with the Empress?" He questioned shortly after causing the consort's face to nervously forge a reply.

"Well—yes, I am. However, Empress Shiba-Auris requested me to retrieve something for her in Shiba Kaien's study." Consort Jiahao explained nervously, inspiring even more intrusiveness at Consort Jiahao's presence in a forbidden area.

"Oh, well you're not suppose to be in here so I suggest you get whatever Empress Shiba-Auris wanted you to get and leave before we both get in trouble." Ichigo suggested to the woman who smiled in return.

"Yes, I agree. However..." She trailed off causing Ichigo to raise an orange brow. "I'm having trouble finding the files Empress Shiba-Auris wanted, do you mind helping?" She asked with a smirk causing Ichigo to feel a tad bit uncomfortable.

"Yeah, sure. What kind of files did Empress Shiba-Auris want?" Ichigo asked as he walked to the center of the room.

"She wanted me to retrieve the files regarding the thirteen Divisions background checks." She said before pausing. "For _Diamyo_ Kuchiki." She finished with a smirk.

Ichigo scoffed at the mentioning of his name before scanning the room that once belonged to his late cousin. "Well, you won't find them here. When Kaien died, Rukia moved all the files regarding the thirteen Divisions to her own private study. And I don't think you have permission to go there, Consort Jiahao."

"You call the Empress by her first name?" Consort Jiahao inquired. The files were irrelevant, or at least _now_ they were. Now that she knew where exactly they were placed, she could retrieve them tonight and disappear out of sight before anyone could notice they were misplaced.

"Um—yeah, _sometimes_." He said as his hand touched the back of his neck.

"I didn't know you and the Empress were that close." She said before tilting her head.

"It's not like that, she's a... _friend_." Ichigo said in response. "A very important friend, that's all."

"Companionship with a warrior? I never expected that out of Empress Shiba-Auris. You both must really share a very important relationship." She teased.

"Um—yeah, I guess. " Ichigo said in discomfort. "We should get going before we're convicted for trespassing." He said before turning around to escape out the door and he had truthfully not expected the next few words that flew out of her mouth as he opened the door.

"But isn't the _diamyo,_ outside already trespassing your territory?"

* * *

Ichigo tried his best to suppress a growl. "We should get going." He repeated again before walking out the door, and she _smiled_.

She had always had a miniature suspicion that the Lord possessed something _more_ than friendly feelings towards the Empress of Japan. His actions alone, had proved his dedication to protect her from the arms of danger, countless of times and his feelings...were at a whole other level. And now she wondered, had he ever disclosed such a thing to the Empress, herself? Or was this just a silly collection of feelings that the Empress remained unknown to?

She couldn't bother herself to ask. It was not like the truth would ever escape his mouth. Perhaps he was still in denial of his feelings or was unsure if Empress Shiba-Auris felt the same. Either way, Consort Jiahao couldn't help but nose her way into his tale of unrequited love. It was ludicrous— _disgraceful_ even, that the cousin of the Emperor would fall in love with the Empress of Japan, the Emperor's wife.

But it was also interesting...interesting enough to have her write a mental reminder to inquire about it later. Because if he indeed had romantic feelings towards the Empress, what did that mean for her wedding?

Did he plan on stopping it?

Intruding it?

The consort didn't know, but she most definitely, _cared_.

The wedding would be ruined.

Empress Shiba-Auris would be disgraced.

And the entire Shiba and Auris family would fall apart. _Again_.

Her eyes lit up as she walked out of the old study, contemplating the imaginary scene in her mind.

* * *

The morning was warm and bathed with an early peach colour as they prepared for the early dawn wedding.

It was so quiet...so peaceful...so _undisturbed_.

If only the refreshing and beautiful morning could be treasured as a gift from mother nature instead of a beautiful gift to commence a miserable wedding.

She braced her petite frame against the parted _sh_ _ōji_ that connected her to her garden. She was _defeated_. Defeated by her fate. And how cruel and dishonorably did she die in the hands of it.

She turned away from the parted doors and re-entered her newly designed chambers, a soft knock came from the door. It was her Ladies and maids—ready to prepare her for the wedding.

"Empress Shiba-Auris?" Called a voice as Rukia sighed.

* * *

Scattered pieces of glass from bottles covered every inch of the floors belonging to Kurosaki Ichigo's room from the kitchen to his connected twin bed in the room. Armor torn apart from his attire rested messily beside the pool of _sake_ and sharp tips of unshaped glass that were stuck between the rugs pointed upwards. His muscular body rested on the small twin bed with his eyes shut tightly and mouth parted open.

Inoue Orihime, a nurse from the medical quarters stared worriedly at the man with spiky orange hair. A single drop of tears spilled silently over her face as she picked up the sharp pieces of glass that covered the rugs. She gulped thickly as she tried not to make any loud noises that could wake him.

The wedding was happening in less than two hours and the intoxicated man known as Lord Kurosaki remained asleep with regret.

Orihime placed a golden tray with tea leaves and clean China onto the small counter as she cleaned up the remaining shards of glass. She scanned Ichigo's figure intensely as she deposed of the last piece of glass and walked closer to his tired body.

"Kurosaki- _kun_?" She asked barely above a whisper as her hand timidly touched the broad muscles on his clothed shoulder. "Kurosaki- _kun_?" She repeated again and shook him lightly with a single teardrop dripping off the edge of her oval-shaped face.

His eyes never opened...and she could slowly feel her heart weight itself.

"Kurosaki- _kun_... _please_...wake up." She whispered as she scanned his neutral features and gently touched a short fringe of his orange hair. "Please...wake up." She whispered again.

It was painful enough to have him place himself in this position, but the reasoning behind this placement was what bothered her the most.

She gently let her fingers softly trace his skin before removing them slowly and turning away to make tea. Perhaps she'd let him sleep for a while until the wedding was about to commence when he was needed. She pushed herself away from his body as she lit the fire to put the water to boil.

Her eyes landed on the window in the process where a very small garden was placed and cried for the taste of fresh water from the sky. It was enclosed by four grey-stone walls (one being the wall where the window was placed and the three others enclosing the sides). She instantly allowed herself out of Ichigo's _sh_ _ōji_ to enter the small door at the end of the corridor that served as the entrance to the dormitory's garden.

She untwined the rope that held a bucket of fresh water and poured it among the lush green bushes.

 _Kurosaki-kun has been so sad these past days...he must be going through something really_ _painful_ , she thought as she watered the green plants.

"I hope Kurosaki- _kun_ gets better soon." Orihime said to herself as she bathed the leaves with cold water.

And as she showered the garden with the water it needed, the tired eyes of Kurosaki Ichigo's finally cracked open at the sound of showering water.

His vision remained blurry as he stared outside the dirty window to see a figure happily watering plants in the dormitory's small garden. And in that small moment of hope and belief, it was _Rukia_ standing there—watering his plants because he was too lazy to water them or care. But as the image became clearer and the woman proved herself to not be petite, it was Orihime standing there in happiness inside a different world.

He could already hear the sound of thumping pound against his skull as if it dared to crush it right open. He pushed his body up to see the iron pot boiling hot water for green tea leaves scattered on a tray.

He stood up hurriedly to smother the fire before Inoue came in.

"Good morning, Kurosaki- _kun_." Orihime said as she walked in with dried tears and a wide smile.

"Morning Inoue." Ichigo said kindly to the woman with auburn hair and a kind smile as she entered the connected kitchen with the tea leaves in her right hand.

"D-Did you sleep well, Kurosaki- _kun_?" Orihime asked as she carefully removed the kettle with water from the turned off stove and poured the water into the teapot.

"Huh? Oh—yeah, how about you, Inoue?"

"Oh I slept great! I actually dreamt of a new recipe I could try to give Empress Shiba-Auris as a gift for her wedding! It's a curry-leaf, banana, and strawberry smoothie with crushed ice and a hint of carrot juice—do you think she'll like it?"

"Yeah, of course Inoue. Just don't serve it to the guests or Elders." He warned with humor as she smiled. "Wouldn't want to destroy the wedding." He muttered bitterly causing her expression to slightly fade.

"Of course! I want Empress Shiba-Auris to have the best wedding ever! If the Elders or guests got too excited over my cooking, Shiba- _san_ 's wedding would be completely ruined because everyone would be too focused on my smoothie!"

"Changed my mind, maybe you _should_ serve your smoothies as free samples to the Kuchiki clan. I'm sure Empress Shiba-Auris would be delighted to have your help."

"Really? I'll have to ask her to make sure though. Plus, I might not have enough time! I'm Shiba- _san_ 's flower woman and all the flowers I've decorated for the event are still locked up in my room and I still need to get ready!"

"How about I deliver the flowers and you go get ready for the wedding?" Ichigo suggested as Orihime poured him a cup of tea.

"Oh no, Kurosaki- _kun_! I can handle it myself." She said kindly before sliding the cup to Ichigo's hand.

"Are you sure about that Inoue? What if you don't have time?"

"Don't worry! Uryū and Chad have already volunteered to help so don't worry about it."

"Alright." He said with a smile before sipping the hot tea from the cup. And it was well deserved after a night of senseless drinking and the dry taste of _sake_ still left on his tongue and lips. Orihime poured herself a cup of tea and sipped it quietly as silence engulfed the pair that stood near the counter of the kitchen.

"Kurosaki- _kun_?" Orihime's voice called shortly before Ichigo voiced a 'huh?' and averted his attention towards the auburn-haired woman.

"Is everything...alright?" She asked with concern and quietness as her expression expressed uncertainty.

"Yeah, Inoue. Everything's fine." He lied as he allowed his expression to avoid deceit. "Things have just been...busy, that's all. I haven't really had time to visit my dad or sisters with all the work the imperial palace has been loading on my division."

 _Kurosaki-kun is finally opening up to me_...she smiled.

"O-Oh well, why don't you talk to Empress Shiba-Auris to revoke some of your division's duties so you can visit Mr Kurosaki and your friends? She was here a few days ago...correct?"

"Empress Shiba-Auris is no longer in control of our division's work, Inoue. The new Emperor will be sworn in tomorrow." He said in a bitter tone.

"Oh right, I completely forgot! Kuchiki Byakuya, right? I don't think he'll be too hard on you since it's his first day."

"I highly doubt that, Inoue. This Kuchiki Byakuya isn't friendly, trust me."

"O-Oh well I kinda assumed he was since Shiba- _san_ likes him so much!"

"You talked to Rukia about him?"

"W-Well no, but on the other day during the tour they seemed to be getting along just fine. Shiba- _san_ even took _Diamyo_ Kuchiki on a small private tour around the bridge near the Eastern gardens and picked him some plum blossoms for his tea!"

His body tensed. "Oh really?" He clenched his teeth as his expression went neutral. "Is there anything else Empress Shiba-Auris and Kuchiki Byakuya did that you know of?"

"Well no - not really. After Uryu finished giving the tour of the Eastern side of the palace, Shiba- _san_ and _Diamyo_ Kuchiki departed privately so she could give him a small tour of the gardens before he left with the Kuchiki Elders and his _samurai_ division."

"By any chance did you see anything else?"

"No, I'm sorry Kurosaki- _kun_ , that's really all that happened. And all yesterday Empress Shiba-Auris was in the fitting room with her Ladies so I wasn't able to talk to her. Apparently she was refusing to eat the meals the servants were providing her."

"Refusing to eat?"

"Yeah, Lady Rangiku told me that she wasn't feeling too good so she tried to stop eating for a while and ended up eating nothing all day. I went to her chambers last night to look for her but...she wasn't there."

"Dammit, Rukia. It must be the wedding or something she ate." Ichigo theorized in concern. "Did that bastard _Diamyo_ give Rukia anything to drink or eat yesterday?"

Orihime stared at him and shook her head in confusion. "I don't really remember...Kurosaki- _kun_."

"She picked plum blossoms for his tea, so does that mean she had some too?"

"Hmmm...let me think." She said as she gazed up at the ceiling in remembrance as the flashback came rushing back.

 _Flashback_

"This is the imperial palace's central training grounds – specifically designed for the Emperor and his most trusted subordinates to train in for battle or regular use. It contains some of the most common and complex swords that are used in the art of swordsmanship and are mastered by the Emperor, himself. The history of these swords date back to over two hundred years ago when the Auris family's youngest child became a prodigy in the art of swordsmanship." Uryu explained to the group as they peer into the large training room containing a huge dark forest green rug designed with two large gold symbols meaning 'the reign of the Emperor'.

The soon-to-be Emperor examined the large training room as the Empress and her Ladies remained at the back of the large group in quietness and peace. After their infuriating encounter, Rukia decided to keep her distance from the arrogant man and indulge in her own serenity as the tour of the palace came to a concluding end.

The entire Eastern side of the palace was finally known and discovered to the Kuchiki clan, leaving only the Eastern gardens (where the wedding was to be held) left for Kuchiki Byakuya and his clan to see.

And as they departed from the central training grounds – also known as their last stop on the tour, Rukia felt a sign of relief wash over her since the Kuchiki departure was long overdue. But as the group came to a sharp and unexpected stop, Rukia truthfully did not expect the next words that flew out of her great aunt's mouth.

"Empress Shiba-Auris, why don't you give Diamyo Kuchiki a small tour around the Eastern gardens? After all, you are to be wed there very soon." Sarumi said with a voice that left no room for negotiation.

"That would be really nice however, I think Diamyo Kuchiki would prefer to leave for now since it is very late and he must return home." Rukia said quietly to the Elder woman.

"That will not be necessary." Said a voice that she had not expected to even make a sound after her respectful reply. "I would like to visit the gardens once more before my recession and leave with the Elders."

During the process of his response he had turned around to face her as the watchful eyes of her great aunt Sarumi pounded through her skull. It was only then when she nodded her head and slightly bowed to the Elder woman and lead Kuchiki Byakuya away from the crowd.

The walk away from the group of Elders was peaceful...quiet...silent. The pair entered the entrance of the Eastern gardens through a parted shoji and exited away from the area where their wedding was to be held. Rukia decided to lead him to the outer border of the garden where a small bridge and lake were visible under the presence of growing plum blossom trees.

But Rukia—being his trusty tour guide—decided that shattering the silence would help her feel more comfortable around the man set to be her husband, since she was his soon-to-be wife.

"It's quite beautiful, don't ya think? The moon...the trees...the lakes...the peace. I've always loved the Eastern gardens for being so peaceful and relaxing, it's always been the most beautiful place in the palace to view the moonlight in the spring and the sunrise in the morning. Most of its light belongs to the fireflies but the scent belongs to the _sakura_ trees we grow in the palace's gardens. You—um...like _sakura_...correct?" She asked to confirm Uryu's research.

She looked up at him to see his face nod with a grunt to assure that she was correct. "My favorites are the white plum blossoms that bloom in early spring. Mainly because the petals resemble the sun and moon."

And he did not ask for her favorable blossom. But he replied regardless of her unwanted interest. "If you are fond of _sakura_ petals that resemble the white moon, you would do well by knowing that the apple blossoms can offer you the same kind of favorable liking as well as the pear blossoms. There is no drastic difference between the three."

"I disagree." His eyes averted to hers shortly but she wasn't looking. "White plum blossoms are different than others because unlike other blossoms, they can bloom both in the winter and the spring. They exemplify contrast between two objects or things and how beautiful they look when they come together."

He hadn't asked for an explanation. But her opinion was truly an interesting one and her analysis was something he'd never bother himself to go into depth to for.

And after a moment of silence and peace, she parted her lips to speak once more in an attempt to have him speak more than four sentences. "How about you?" She asked with her eyes looking up to view his pale face as they passed by a stream filled with water.

And he was silent for a moment. He mentally contemplated whether speaking was appropriate in his current position or if he should just shrug her away. But with such little time, he spoke to reply.

"I truly believe that all _sakura_ are exquisite in their own way. To choose a favorable one would be an insult to the beauty each and every one of them contains." He spoke with his deep and baritone voice as he viewed the _sakura_ trees she had mentioned as they slowly headed towards the small bridge arched over another stream.

She was quiet again. Mainly because she didn't know how to continue a conversation with him when he was so unsociable and evidently very displeased with her presence. Even she could sense his discomfort of being with her, so why did he insist on having her tour the gardens with him when he could've went home?

She mentally sighed at their predicament as neither one dared to talk and interrupt the silence. And by now, she could tell that after they were married, she would be the one doing all the talking.

"Empress Shiba-Auris?" Called a small voice that averted the pair's attention and body to turn around and see a tall servant girl with a tray of teapot China and leaves. "Your Elder, Lady Sarumi requested me to bring this tea set for you and Diamyo Kuchiki. You may use the extra tea leaves if the flavor is not suitable enough to your liking."

Rukia nodded her head as the servant lady rested the tray onto the round table ahead of them. She bowed respectfully to the figures before disappearing into the night and allowing both, Byakuya and Rukia to walk further ahead and sit (uncomfortably) in their seats.

Rukia was the first one to grab the teapot and pour the scorching liquid into the teacup of her liking. But after realizing he wasn't going to make an attempt to speak at all, she poured a cup of tea for him to avoid asking.

And as she distractingly made his tea, one eye cracked open to view her insert a plum blossom petal in her tea.

Then suddenly—a figure, with too-familiar orange hair found a way to reflect in her violet eyes behind bush not too far away from her. She felt a gleam of hope shone in her eyes at the thought of Ichigo being the one that was there. But no—it couldn't be. And even if she wanted it to be, she knew that she had to let him go. She had to come to terms with her own agreement and yet...she wanted it to be him.

She placed down her teacup before giving the diamyo one last glance to see that his eyes were still closed. She took that as an invitation to leave and investigate the orange fringe she had spotted shortly. She lifted her petite body up and muttered an 'I'll be back' in the event he ended up following her and discovering Ichigo and her—together—again.

Her eyes scanned the atmosphere before meeting the same orange fringe she saw before. And as a glint of hope consumed her eyes, she quickly jogged behind the bush and parted her lips to say his name.

"Ichi—Inoue." She acknowledged in surprise at the presence of the nurse who stared in embarrassment at her discovery.

"S-Shiba-san!" She smiled. "I was so not stalking you and your future husband from the beginning of your tour!"

"I lost something on the way here and I thought I'd find it here." Orihime finished.

"Oh, no worries Inoue. I'll help you find what you're looking for." She smiled at the auburn-haired woman. "Just tell me what it looks like and I'll start searching."

"Oh no, Shiba-san! I-It's okay! I can definitely handle it. And besides, aren't you suppose to be returning to your future husband?"

"He'll be fine without me. So, what's this thing you were looking for?" Rukia asked to alter the subject away from the arrogant Kuchiki.

"O-Oh well it's—um—small...and um...very fragrant and it's—her eyes adverted to the sakura petals dangling above their heads—very pretty! Yes, very pretty! And...white."

"What is it?" Rukia asked.

"That's the thing, Shiba-san! I don't know. And I was hoping you could help me find it."

"You're searching for a thing you don't know?" Rukia asked.

"Uryū told me that thinking about something that you don't know or understand is good for both the male and female brain and body."

"Oh, I see. Well, um—how can I help?"

"That's the thing, no one can help you figure it out except yourself."

"Oh...well then I guess I'll go." Rukia said sadly as she took a few steps back. She didn't want to return to the strained silence she shared with the diamyo, she wanted to talk to someone—to converse, like normal human beings but perhaps, the diamyo was different from them and that's what she hated the most.

"I'll get going too, Shiba-san! Nice talking to you." Orihime said before bowing respectfully and disappearing into the bushes and trees. Rukia watched her go as she sorrowfully traced her eyes to the white plum blossoms that dangled above her head. She had thought twice about mentioning her love for stark white plum blossoms and their portrayal of contrast. But in an attempt to get him to talk, her explanation was necessary but she had later figured out that the diamyo shared no interest in talking.

She sighed as she outstretched her hand to cup the blossoms in her right hand. And before she knew it, she was picking the white blossoms off the tree and placing a few of them into her hands before departing back to her seat of loneliness.

Walking back into the view, the arrogant _diamyo r_ emained in his seat with his eyes closed and tea left untouched.

With the plum blossoms in her hand, she returned to her seat and placed a few on the tray before slipping one into her tea.

And with both of her eyes opened, she noticed that the liquid in his tea was still untouched and unbothered—much to Rukia's annoyance. But in an attempt to notify him of her displeasure, she slipped a white blossom into his cup of tea and returned to enjoy her own.

" _Diamyo_ Kuchiki...earlier today, I think we suffered a bit of a small misunderstanding and I was hoping...we could clear the air now before our wedding." She said quietly with the rim of her teacup pressing onto her lips.

"There will be no need for that as there was no misunderstanding as I stated before." The _diamyo_ finally said after a long pause.

"There was a misunderstanding...and to end it I just wanted to apologize on behalf of the Auris clan for my rude behavior and comments regarding you and the Kuchiki clan." She said. "It was very rude of me to accuse you of being powerless when I was unaware of your skills, my deepest apologies, _Diamyo_ Kuchiki for my negligence."

"There was no misunderstanding. Your apology is excused."

 _Why can't he just accept my apology for once?_

 _And why can't he speak more than two God damn sentences per ten minutes?_

 _At this rate, we're going nowhere. And frankly, I can't stand being here any longer._

"I have matters to attend to, I will take my leave." He said before standing up—which the Empress shortly followed.

"I'll walk you out." She said kindly as she rested her teacup onto the table and smoothed out the creases of her kimono.

"That will not be necessary." He interjected with his voice filled with authority and power.

"But _Diamyo_ Kuch—"

"I said it is not necessary." He repeated again with a dangerous intonation and something about the way he said it told Rukia that he was not the type of man who liked repeating his words.

 _Flashback end_

"Nope. She gave him a cup of tea with _sakura_ and he didn't drink it." Orihime said as she met Ichigo's eyes again after her remembrance.

"Of course he didn't." He scoffed. "He's a _diamyo_ , nothing's ever good enough for them."

"Ah well, I have to get going now Kurosaki- _kun_. I have to get ready for the wedding and make sure all the flowers are ready for Shiba- _san_. See you at the wedding!" Orihime said before bowing and departing through Ichigo's _sh_ _ōji_ —leaving him alone to ponder about the Empress and her sudden urge to not eat.

He wasn't the best chef in the world, but even if he had no intention of going to the wedding, Rukia needed to eat. And it was obvious that her arrogant-ass fiance was the only one capable of causing it in the first place. But even so, risking himself to enter the Western side of the palace was not something he wanted to do.

He wasn't going to the wedding, but he _was_ going to see Rukia one last time.

 _I will find you._

"Good morning, Sir." Said a member of his division as he walked past the men in speed, he managed to slip out a 'good morning' as he escaped through the dormitory's metal door and entered the next bridge that separated the 3rd from the 2nd.

He wasn't going to miss her.

He would catch her before she entered that carriage. And no one was going to stop him.

Not even her.

 _And not even you, Rukia. Not even you._

* * *

That photograph.

That shrine.

That face.

That _smile_.

The prestigious and handsome _samurai_ warrior feared his own second wedding more than he feared his own death.

He couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes again because of the disgrace he weighted so heavily on his shoulders. The woman was _too_ identical— _too_ similar to the woman he loved and seeing that woman draped in a _kimono_ and call herself his wife drove him more angry than he was used to being.

She was _not_ his wife.

And no marriage, blood, or family could determine that personal title, but _him_.

And he made a vow...a vow to protect Hisana's legacy by distancing himself from his soon-to-be wife and ruling majesty. Her face was _too_ painful, _too_ hopeful, _too_ yearning for him to even look at, let alone be in the same presence in.

And in his current state, he couldn't bother himself to worry about such trivial matters such as feelings or possibly ruining the girl's mentality for life. All he knew was that he had to stay away, for the sake of Hisana and most importantly, for the sake of _himself_.

He took one last look at the painting of her face before turning around and walking out of her shrine for one last time, because Hisana's memory would _stay_. It would stay for the sake of her and most importantly, the sake of _himself_.

And with those final thoughts, the soon-to-be-married man slipped away from the scene—with his black-coloured groom attire and a face as cold as the Eastern gardens' leaves.

* * *

 **Shiba-Auris Rukia & Kuchiki Byakuya**

 _Invite you to celebrate their imperial wedding at the midst of dawn on the seventh day of the new monthly year in the Eastern gardens of the palace._

 _If you've received this letter of celebration, please be aware that your attendance is an absolute_ _ **must**_ _or else severe_ _consequences will be issued and executed by the imperial court on the very next day._

 _With regards_ , _**The Shiba-Auris Imperial Palace**_

Her thin white veil bathed her figure with a pure white light as it lugged behind her petite figure with her Ladies—so beautifully draped in a pale peach _kimono_ —holding onto the tips of it.

She sighed heavily as her guards surrounded the group of noble beings and the white carriage appeared on the smooth stone-grey road.

Her two consorts—Sung-Sung and Haruna lifted the edges of her long kimono as they stepped down the cold grey stairs with their heads lowered and voice silent.

And as she reached the bottom of the final last stair, her eyes averted straight to the carriage that was awaiting her presence to fill the empty space until the familiar voice of her warrior love soon reached her ears and unfortunately for him, she couldn't help but want to hear.

A stern expression graced his face as his right hand held out something in her reach. He bowed respectfully before uttering her name—the _wrong_ name, the _formal_ name— _Empress Shiba-Auris_.

"Empress Shiba-Auris." He acknowledged during his bow.

"Lord Kurosaki." She said in return with her voice sounding _too_ hopeful, _too_ sad, _too_ happy for his sudden arrival. "W-What are you doing here?" She added shortly to bring seriousness to her previous emboldened tone.

"Omaeda wanted me to bring you this." He lied before handing her the black box that she accepted. She looked down at the box before looking back at him.

"Omaeda wanted you to bring me this?" She asked in surprise at the Head Cook's generosity in such a moment.

"Yeah, he—uh—heard you weren't eating so he thought that you shouldn't be starved before the wedding."

"Didn't Omaeda leave an hour ago to prepare for the wedding?" Lady Iri questioned, earning a glance from all the Ladies at her state of oblivion.

"Oh—um yeah he did, he gave this to me yesterday night and told me to give it to you in the morning." Ichigo explained to Rukia who still held his gaze.

"O-Oh well um, tell him I said thanks."

"I will, Your Majesty." Ichigo reassured before looking up to notice the 5th Division guards watching him seriously.

"Lord Kurosaki, Empress Shiba-Auris must take her leave now before time runs out. We're suppose to be circling the palace." One of the guards said with a thick black mustache and squinted eyes. Ichigo mentally nodded his head in response before looking down at the Empress.

"They're right." Rukia said with a grieving tone. "Thank you for bringing this to me. I'll surely eat it on the way there."

"Make sure not to spill it on your dress." Ichigo said before releasing a heavy breath and staring at her as she slipped away into the carriage.

Her figure disappeared into the isolated carriage with her Ladies and consorts left to ride the next. He watched the carriage disappear with Rukia inside trying to calm himself down.

This wedding wasn't for her, it was for her life.

And Ichigo had to understand that. But why did he have to lose her as his future wife?

Ichigo didn't know. But certainly fate was planning on creating a devious battle for Ichigo to fight. And regardless of the amount of casualties, lives lost, bloodshed, and sins, Ichigo was going to win.

For the sake of Rukia, he would will win.

* * *

She opened the box to reveal vegetable egg noodles and set of red chopsticks.

 _It's still warm..._ she commented as her petite hands felt the sides of the black box before grabbing the red chopsticks to devour the meal she knew Ichigo (sneakily) prepared. And with that thought in mind, a memory came rushing back.

"Ichigo, you cook?" She had asked before jumping off the counter in his kitchen after curiosity had gotten the best of her.

His lips had tugged at her interest before a faint crimson blush had graced his cheeks. "Yeah, a little. My sister—Yuzu—usually makes my meals."

"What do you cook?" She had questioned before leaning closer to peer at the _kamado._

"It's a surprise." He had said.

"Ichigo!" She had raised her hand to hit his shoulder but he had casually moved away and smiled.

"Don't worry, you'll get to taste it. Just give it a little while. I'm sure your taste buds can wait a little longer to taste commoner's food, Rukia."

"Can I have a few guesses?"

"You can only have three."

"Three?"

"And each one you get wrong means you have to stay back with me for one extra hour per day."

"Deal."

"Go ahead."

"Hmm...alright, how about that spicy curry we ate the other day in my chambers for lunch?"

"Nope—Yuzu made that, I shared that with you because I knew you'd like the pickles and rice. " He had smirked before looking down at the _kamado_.

"Umm...how about rice balls?" She had exclaimed with brightened eyes at the thought of her favorite food with a smile.

"You're wrong again." He had smiled with his eyes still lowered on the burning _kamado_.

"Give me a hint." She had asked.

"Rukia, that'll give it away."

"That's the point." She had smirked.

"Fine—think about eggs."

"Eggs?"

"I won't tell you what kind of dish though."

"Fine, okay umm... _._ how about _, omurice_?"

"And it looks like you owe me three hours of your time, Ms Shiba-Auris." He had smirked with satisfaction.

"Ichigo! What is it?" She had asked.

"Close your eyes." And she had followed.

Her eyes were shut tightly and the anticipation had slowly began to kill her as the scent engulfing the air could definitely be classified as a delicious one. And when she had felt a hot plate settle in front of her, she couldn't help but open her eyes, but Ichigo's warm hand had covered her eyes before she could even take a glimpse and she hated him for it.

"Ichigo."

"Not yet." He had whispered with his hot breath near her ear. "Open your mouth."

She had parted her lips slowly so that the chopsticks he brought to her mouth could fit in and soon, her taste buds had erupted in delicious pleasure to the food she was devouring in her very mouth. She had opened her eyes after his hand slid off her face to see noodles—egg noodles made by Kurosaki Ichigo to perfection.

"How is it?" He had inquired after analyzing her features.

"Ichigo...this is...amazing." She had said before shoving another mouthful of the noodles into her mouth. And at the time, she didn't even know what egg noodles were but when Ichigo had displayed them in the most appealing and promising away as possible, she could not resist the taste.

"What is this?" She had asked with the chopsticks placed in between her fingers.

"Egg noodles."

"Egg noodles?"

"Made specifically for the Empress by yours truly."

"Oh really?" She had laughed. "You should make them for the Empress more often, I'm sure she wouldn't mind having a taste."

"I think I might take you up on that offer after the Empress fulfills her promise."

"What promise?"

"You owe me another hour, Shiba—so let's not put it to waste." And that was the end.

Rukia pulled herself back to reality as the chopsticks remained placed in between her fingers as she slowly entered the food into her mouth.

And as her eyes traced the box, it landed on the cover she had gently put aside that contained a note.

A note.

Addressed to her.

 _Rukia._

In small black ink that couldn't go unnoticed as Ichigo's messy penmanship.

The box was quickly discarded to the side as her hand flew to the note to unfold it immediately. Her eyes scanned it thoroughly before reading it once out loud before a thousand times in her head. But no matter how many times she read it, she only ever had one response.

 _ **Remember me. Remember us. And never forget, I love you too much to ever let you go.**_

 _ **Ichigo.**_

* * *

She felt her heart weigh with pressure as she stared at the pathway she was set to walk upon, with her Ladies at the back of her and her consorts waiting at the very front of the aisle that was beyond the pathway she was set to walk on.

The longer edges of her _kimono_ were upheld by the slender fingers of her Ladies as she stood in front of them. Her eyes and mouth remained silent until Lady Rangiku unexpectedly spoke.

"Um Rukia? I...about Ichigo, are you _sure_ you want to do this?" Rangiku asked in a quiet tone after a long while of silence.

"Rangiku." Nanao warned.

"I'm fine, Rangiku." She lied. "I'll make it through this."

"But Ichig—"

"I know." She said in a saddened tone. "But I let him go for a reason and...he's letting me go too."

"He let you go?"

" _Hai_." She lied. "We both want what's best for each other and this wedding is the only thing that will benefit me _and_ the thirteen Divisions, greatly. It's really okay..."

"And Ichigo's acceptant of this?" Momo asked in a soft tone.

" _Hai_ —he agreed." She said with her eyes still focused at the end of the path. "Now all that's left is my acceptance of this wedding." She muttered to herself.

She stopped in front of a clustered tree to take a few deep breaths and rid herself of her constant anxiety.

"You'll be fine, Rukia. I know you can do this." Rangiku said with a reassuring smile and a hand on her left shoulder.

"Y-Yeah Rukia. We'll be right behind you." Momo assured.

Nanao gently smiled.

Iri nodded her head.

And Rukia knew she wasn't going to be alone at this wedding, for sure.

Rukia turned around and gave them one last final smile before she began to count down.

 _Seven_.

Her breathing heavied.

 _Six_.

Her lungs clenched.

 _Five._

Her pulse quickened.

 _Four._

Her body quenched.

 _Three._

Her heart hastened.

 _Two._

Her eyes cried.

 _And one._

She couldn't _breathe_.

The priest and the priestess were located directly parallel to her current position with a umbrella held to shade them as well as the groom and arriving bride.

Guests were perfectly placed in a surrounding circle with their heads turned to face the walking bride.

She had only paid them a quick and unnoticeable glance because the first person's eyes her two flowers of wisteria always seemed to the meet, were the only things worth watching in the morning light.

But there was something different about those silver eyes. Something new. Something _strange_. An emotion or feeling that couldn't help but inspire a little confidence in her stance as her vision caught something the prestigious Kuchiki Byakuya never seemed to have.

 _Shock._

That glint of shock that had detonated in his silver eyes had caused them to widen at the sight of her covered face as her petite figure walked in a straight line towards him with grace.

And when the glint finally faded away, his eyes inserted a more serious and common emotion to reclaim his facial features as her body reached closer to him and shyly looked away before she reached the stance where they were both required to stay.

Her Ladies and Orihime made a bow, before disappearing to the side with petals for the crowd.

The Head priest of the nearest _Shinto_ temple stood in the middle of the silent pair as the audience made themselves seated after the arrival of the bride.

He didn't look down at her.

Instead his eyes were focused on the priest and priestess as her eyes gazed up at him.

Nervousness took over her features as the final words finally escaped the Head priest's lips before their bond of marriage would be sealed forever.

"Do you, Kuchiki Byakuya take this woman right here to be your wedded wife?"

Silence.

Breathing.

Wind.

Anxiety.

Air.

And he didn't even look at her when he uttered the very words that would seal them together for life and for death.

" _I do_." He said with his deep and baritone voice as a sigh of relief breathed from the humongous crowd.

The priest and priestess turned.

"And do _you_ , Shiba-Auris Rukia take this man to be your wedded husband?" The priestess asked and she gulped with _fear._

 _He'll throw you under the tables before you can even step on the floor. He'll have mistresses, visit brothels—even bring one of them into your room. Is that really what you want, Rukia? Do you want to be discarded as a toy all your life or mean something like you've always deserved?_

Ichigo.

 _And besides, whether he's willing to make a commitment or not, you only need him as an ornament, not a man to love._

Nanao.

 _Help me, please._

"I..."

His eyes narrowed.

 _Listen, if you and Ichigo are truly meant to be together, life will find a way to make it happen. For where there's sun, you'll find a moon, and neither one could ever be forsaken_.

Rangiku.

 _You've been so absent from the moonlight that you've forgotten every time a flower blooms, it grows._

Nanao.

 _Remember me. Remember us. And never forget, I love you too much to ever let you go._

Ichigo.

"Empress Shiba-Auris...?"

"I..."

She knew she was going to regret this later, but with all the worried eyes gazing at her, it had to be said.

 _It had to be done._

"I..." The chests of each guest came to a rise as the words finally articulated in her mouth.

 _You're getting married, Rukia. You're getting married._

 _This is it...this is finally it. This is my fate_ — _standing right here, this is the man I'm suppose to learn to love._

 _But then...why does it feel so wrong?_

 _Why do I feel so defeated?_

"I...um..."

 _I'm suppose to be happy. I'm protecting my clan and family, what more could I possibly want?_

 _Ichigo will let me go. It will take time, but he will._

 _Forget him. Forget him please..._

 _This man is suppose to be everything I want._

"I..."

 _Now all I have to do is let go_ — _feel free._

 _I have to let you go_ — _my regret, my pain, my suffering._

 _I have to...so why won't you let me free?_

 _Let me go, please._

 _Let me go._

 _Kuchiki Byakuya is my fate...so please just set me free._

"Empress Shiba-Auris...?"

"…. _don't._ "

* * *

 **End Note**

And that's all we have for today! It only took me about nine days to complete this chapter which is strange because I usually take an entire month to write, edit, and revise so congratulations to me! As for the next chapter of TEHH, I fear that it might have to be delayed since I haven't updated my other story TIM (The Iced Moon Arc) in almost two months due to writer's block and now I've finally found my TIM planner to write the next chapter. So here's the deal: if TEHH can get **7 reviews** and **3 follows** I will try my _very best_ to update the fourth chapter as soon as possible. Perhaps on July 15th or earlier. As for my TIM readers, I will start working on the new chapter tomorrow!

 **Note:** Please check Images For This Chapter to depict scenery, clothing, characters etc.

 **Images For This Chapter (** View **kagomesangos Tumblr** and click **The Emperor of Her Heart)**

Ichigo's window (2)—There are two pictures regarding his window. One regarding appearance, one regarding length. The first one is appearance the second one is length.

Outer border of Eastern gardens (night)

White Plum Blossoms

Vegetable egg noodles

Rukia's white veil (Taken from Yang Mi's—also known as the beautiful Qiao Fei in Les Interpretes—wedding)

Rukia's Ladies' kimono

Rukia's wedding kimono

Eastern gardens (morning) pathway

- _NairaRains/kagomesangos_


	5. The Nuptial Chambers

**Pre-Note**

Happy birthday to Ichigo! I updated this chapter as promised! Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and encouraging words on the last chapter, I hope you like this one as well! By the way, this chapter has **not** been properly edited or revised—I repeat, this chapter has **not** been properly edited or revised so forgive the mistakes in grammar or spelling.

 **Disclaimer:** I do **not** own Bleach, Kubo Tite does because if I did, ByaRuki would be canon.

* * *

EDIT 03/02/17: Several scenes have been deleted for the sake of the plot line **INCLUDING** the second wedding for reasons that will be explained in the next update. Sorry for all the confusion but don't worry, this will explained shortly.

* * *

 **The Nuptial Chambers**

Gasps immediately filled the extensive garden as Rukia's lips formulated the words none of the guests were expecting to hear. She could hear her conscience muttering apologies after apologies as she silently shook her head. His eyes of steel hardened at her reply as their joint hands tightened.

She widened her eyes as he clasped her small hands tightly, only to realize it was not intended in an aggressive or warning way. In fact, the tight grip felt more reassuring rather than aggressive.

A lump rested in her throat as she stared regretfully at him before bitterly closing her eyes.

 _I'm so sorry, Diamyo Kuchiki._

 _I'm so sorry._

 _I..._

With his tightened grip and the faces of shock, she clutched onto his wordlessly gave each other looks of uncertainty as the Elders drilled holes into Rukia's pale back.

"I...don't..." She repeated again with her eyes slowly opening and lowered. She _had_ to say yes. She had too. "…..feel so well." She finished.

She released her grasp on Kuchiki Byakuya's hand and rose her right hand to her forehead as she faked a migraine. The crowd released a sigh of relief and concern at her illness as Orihime quickly left her stance and fell behind the Empress.

"N-No need to worry, _Diamyo_ Kuchiki. I'm a nurse from the medical quarters of the imperial palace, Shiba- _san_ will be alright." She said as she felt Rukia's forehead and the heat radiating off of it. Byakuya nodded his head in response as he stared down at her bent head. He knew she was faking.

"Never mind that, proceed with the wedding." She could hear her Elder Sarumi say behind her in a tone of anger and irritation.

"But, Elde—"

"Proceed with the wedding." The priest and priestess nodded their heads as they turned back to her with the inscriptions written carefully on their hands.

The Head priestess cleared his throat. "Shall we continue, Empress Shiba-Auris?"

Rukia's head rose up before staring at the priest and nodding her head. She wordlessly stood up with Orihime's aid and returned her small hand into his—her eyes couldn't bring themselves to look at him.

"As I was saying, do _you_ Shiba-Auris Rukia take this man to be your wedded husband?" The priestess asked and Rukia mentally nodded her head before voicing the words.

She didn't even bother hesitating after she was given a second chance of redemption. _"I do."_ —then came the applause.

The priestess held the cushion that contained the rings. She wordlessly extended her hands with the cushion to fill the empty space between them.

"Please exchange rings." The priestess said and she allowed him to slip the silver ring onto her slender finger with no words necessary. Following his actions, she carefully slid the plain ring onto his finger with her eyes avoiding his gaze.

"We now pronounce you, husband and wife." They said in unison as the applause and guests grew louder as her arm gently brushed his. With her hands rested in front of her and their arms slightly brushing, _sakura_ petals flew around their figure as they turned around and followed the priest and priestess with a red umbrella over their heads.

And although the anxiety hadn't entirely faded and she was now officially married, she was glad it was finally over with, because she was now officially _Diamyo_ Kuchiki's wedded wife—and now that it was over and the flower was bloomed, all she had to do was shine in the moonlight for a little while longer to see the flower bloom into growth.

* * *

It wasn't long until they reached the _Shinto_ temple residing near the imperial palace. The bamboo umbrella was held steady by _Diamyo_ Kuchiki's left hand as they reached the front entrance of the ancient temple.

"The meals and offerings will be provided on the right side of the temple, follow me to the right." The Head priest said to the many people who had followed before leading them away from the newly wedded pair. Rukia watched the guards surround the area and the rest of the guests go in and settle down.

"Your migraine." He stated resolutely. "Has it subsided?" He asked with his gaze focused straight ahead along with hers.

She nodded her head and continued to look straight. Their eyes never met, but she could tell he was bothered by her not answering with words.

"I would like an answer." He said with a deep articulation that made her shiver in response to its depth.

She spoke quietly. "Yes, it is gone now."

"Is that so?" He asked before continuing. "Because to me, it would seem that you never had one in the first place." He said but their eyes never met.

"I-It was just a little migraine."

"That is what you claim, however I believe it was something else."

"You are mistaken, _Diamyo_ Kuchiki...it was nothing." She said as he voice faded away towards the end.

"I don't believe it was nothing. You took a while to comprehend your answer." He noted before looking down at her momentarily.

"I was just a bit...confused." She admitted honestly. And confused wasn't necessarily the _right_ term to define her moment of panic at the altar but it was the most suitable term to use in her current position with him beside her.

"You did not want to marry." He stated seriously but he wasn't looking at her.

She lowered her head before formulating a reply. "No...I-I did not. But, I'm okay with it now. This is for my family...And I'm willing to accept it to avoid being a disappointment to them any longer."

"So you were indeed forced into this marriage?" He asked to confirm his suspicion.

"Um...yes—yes I was. The Elders told me seven days ago that we were to marry. By then, I couldn't do anything to stop it." She said with her eyes slightly lowered.

"I see." He said.

" _Diamyo_ Kuchiki?" She asked after a short while. He turned his head to intend that he was listening. "Um...when did you find out that you and I were suppose to marry?"

She flickered her violet hues to him. "Two months ago." He said. "At a meeting with the Elders and the Hakodoa clan in the _Diamyo_ District of Noble Houses. I was denying their proposal of a possible marriage between me and their eldest daughter when the Elder Sjihiro made them aware of my proposed engagement with you."

"Oh..." She lowered her head. "It seems that they had this planned all along."

"Indeed." He said and she stayed quiet up until a new question sparked some interest in her head.

"So what happens now?" She asked and before she could even choke the words back down her throat, he had already heard.

He glanced at her momentarily before looking away. "I do not understand."

She felt stupid for even asking such a question to the point where she created the most mundane and lamest excuse to his statement "I-I mean...we're married now. And tomorrow is your coronation and..."

"You would like to know if I intend on developing a separate liaison with you that is beyond our political duties and commitments."

Her eyes widened. "N-No not at all, I didn't mean to intend that at all...I just..." Her voice died at her throat.

"You are far too involved with the warrior to even be thinking about such trivial matters." He said and her annoyance took a rise all over again.

" _Diamyo_ Kuchiki..." She said and she felt as if she was whining, but she was really not. "Lord Kurosaki is just a friend."

"It does not matter, your relationship with the warrior does not concern me."

"There is no relationship, just companionship."

"That is what you claim." He said.

"It is the truth." She lied.

And they were silent all over again. It was only when a man with too-silver hair and squinted eyes appeared in front their eyes that voices made themselves heard again.

"Your Majesties." He said with a bow before meeting both their eyes. By his appearance she could tell he was an artisan—here to paint a picture of them for their wedding photo. He respectfully lead them to a location and began to fix their awkward positioning.

Their arms were barely touching and nothing about their aura felt comfortable at all. If they were the Emperor and the Empress, he would've packed his bags long before they could even convince him to stay back. "Um...my deepest apologies, Your Majesty but...may you please move a bit closer towards Her Majesty?"

The gap between their bodies was larger than it should be, and he had no intention of closing it until the old artisan had brought it up. His eyes shifted to the petite Empress who shared his discomfort as well before filling the space between them so that their arms were brushing off each other's as well. Rukia then took her left hand and looped it around his right arm before taking her right hand and gently resting it on top of his. His whole body stiffened at their position but the artisan would not go away until he was satisfied with their stance.

"Is this...alright?" Rukia asked the artisan who then shortly nodded his head.

"Yes, it is, Your Majesty." He assured before turning around to return to his blank canvas.

This surely was going to be a long day after all.

* * *

"Is it over?" Questioned Ichigo before he splashed some of the river's water onto his face.

"Yes, it's over. The guests are having their meals now."

"So what are you doing here, four-eyes?"

"I came to see if you were still alive, Kurosaki. With your intelligence, I thought you were going to pull a Romeo and Juliet on me and kill yourself because of the wedding."

"I don't plan on doing anything stupid, trust me." Ichigo assured as he stood up with his bare muscles on show. He was no longer wearing his heavy armor but a no-sleeve _hakama_ that allowed his chest and bare arms to show.

"I find that hard to believe."

"Well I'm not doing anything."

"If you say so, but I'm letting you know something now. She said no..." Uryū said causing Ichigo's eyes widened in disbelief and hope. "…. _at first._ " He finished which immediately made Ichigo clench his first.

"Why the hell didn't you say that first?" Ichigo asked.

"Does it really make a difference?"

"It makes a whole lot of a difference! If she said no, then I could elope with her to the Rukongai District!"

"Now you're eloping with nobles? Damn, Ichigo when will you ever learn? Even if she said no, her family legacy would be destroyed and her reputation would be ruined if she ran away with you."

"That doesn't matter."

"It matters to her."

Ichigo frowned.

"You know it's true." Uryū said. "Listen, I didn't come to pick a fight with you, Kurosaki but Chad and Inoue- _san_ are pretty worried about you so I came to see if you were still alive."

"I'm alright." Ichigo said. "Really...they don't need to worry."

"You do realize you're going to be punished." Uryū said.

"What?" Ichigo asked and Uryū sighed.

"Man you really are senseless—the imperial court is issuing punishments tomorrow for anyone who was invited and didn't attend the wedding."

"Oh...right." Ichigo said as he used a towel to wipe his face. "With their crappy judging I'll probably be sentenced to death by hanging."

"On the bright side it isn't the worst thing they could do to you, Ichigo. You could get thrown into a bag of vipers, shot down by a shooting squad, tortured with stick and whip, stripped and beaten in front the entire society, skinned and milked like a cow..."

"Why do I get the feeling that you want that to happen to me?"

"Relax, Kurosaki—I'm trying to help you here."

"Well giving me a list of things I could be executed with isn't necessarily what I call helping!"

"Don't you get it, I'm trying to lighten the mood here."

"Well you're really not, Uryū." Ichigo said and he stayed quiet after that. "Look...I'm sorry, it's just...this entire thing is just pissing me off and I haven't really gotten a proper sleep in days and I'm just fucking tired, Uryū of the Elders crap and their stupid honor." He said and Uryū listened.

His voice softened and so did his face. "Tell Inoue and Chad that I'm doing just fine. Maybe after this wedding and the punishment the imperial court has set for me we can all hang out again—do something fun like we promised after the war was done."

"I will." Uryū assured. "And Kurosaki?"

"Yeah?"

"Stop making Inoue- _san_ worry about you so much, you're scaring her and you're scaring me too. Who knew you could be this sentimental." He said.

"Don't worry, I will." Ichigo assured with a smile before Uryū walked away in peace.

* * *

The newly wedded man casually strolled down the pathway with his new gold, white, and black attire as maids hurriedly walked past him to prepare the night's dinner.

 _You did not want to marry._

He had said _._

 _No...I-I did not. But, I'm okay with it now. This is for my family...And I can't handle being a disappointment to them any longer._

So she did not want to marry. Certainly she was a very abnormal woman, indeed. If it wasn't for her keen resemblance to Hisana he would not have minded discussing the matter any further. The only question was: why? As a woman of her kind, the opportunity to produce an heir would be a beneficial plan that would help her uphold her family's long reigning legacy. So why?

With this knowledge, she would most definitely stay away. The heir they were set to produce would be the only thing tying them together besides their legal marriage that she had originally refused of at the altar.

When she had faked a migraine, he was surprised. Her acting had felt more like reality when she fell to the ground.

His concern must've shoned brighter than he intended it to since the auburn-haired nurse had reassured him that she was indeed okay. That tiny release of emotion had said too much through his eyes, he did not know if staying close to her was any better than staying away from her after her little play at the end of the aisle.

Byakuya wanted to investigate the matter—her history, her face, her position, everything. But he knew if he dug too deep he'd leave himself in a ditch with no rope to climb.

And now he knew his choices were slim. He couldn't afford to have himself investigate the Empress' past solely and alone. He figured he'd have to depend on someone loyal and trustworthy to investigate the matter without getting caught.

He knew there had to be some type of relation between the Empress and Hisana. Their resemblance was too comparable to ignore and blatantly, it bothered him more than it should. But it seemed that he would have to be the one to conduct the investigation—he did not trust anyone with this matter.

"Sir?" A voice called.

"Renji." He acknowledged with his back facing his Lieutenant.

"Um, the maids are calling you to get ready now." He said which summoned his attention.

"Yes, of course." He turned around. "Prepare the Division to surround the Western side of the palace out front."

"Yes, sir." Renji said before turning around in an attempt to leave and execute the _Diamyo_ 's orders. But before the red-haired Lieutenant could leave, an unfamiliar voice entered the scene and called on him to turn around.

"That won't be needed." Lord Kurosaki said with a serious tone. Byakuya's hard eyes shifted to the Lord who paid no attention to his presence and stared directly at his Lieutenant. "The 3rd Division and the 10th Division are already handling that, find another place for your division of _samurais_ to guard."

Renji stared at the man with amber flames before speaking on behalf of the _Diamyo_."Then it looks like the palace will have an extra number of security tonight, Lord...("Kurosaki" Ichigo answered) Kurosaki. We're not moving." Renji said and Lord Kurosaki's face remained the same.

"We don't need extra security up front, each Division is made up of over two hundred members. With Toshiro's and my Division handling it that's four hundred guards plus us." Ichigo explained.

"I take it you mean the 10th Division's Lord, Hitsugaya." Byakuya intervened and hard amber flames met his.

"Yeah, Tōshirō's Division is usually paired up with mine so we'll be fine—move your _samurai_ division some place else, Lieutenant...("Abarai." Renji answered.) Abarai."

"That won't be needed as I'd prefer my _samurais_ to handle the security of the palace at the front instead of the back where it is not needed." Byakuya said.

"Tōshirō and I can handle it just fine. You're not needed at the front." Ichigo said.

"We're not moving, Lord Kurosaki. You're just going to have to deal with a little issue about spacing, that's all." Renji said.

"I don't think you people get it, you're not needed at the front." Ichigo said.

"Then where do you propose our _samurais_ guard then? I believe the 13th Division has taken responsibility to guard the back of the palace and the two sides of the palace are to be guarded by the 8th Division and the 2nd."

"I don't know but you're not needed at the front." Ichigo said again.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, you would do well by knowing that I am soon to become the next reigning Emperor of your society and will rule the thirteen Divisions—one, including yours."

"Trust me, I know. But since you're not the current Emperor right now, your _samurais_ don't need to guard if there's not enough space."

"I am not moving my _samurai_ division. You will have to find some other space to fill your division in, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"I was ordered to guard there. I'm the Empress' closest guard division—I have the right to be up front." Ichigo said.

"And I'm the Empress' husband, I have a right to discard your duties." Ichigo gritted his teeth. "Remove your division at once from the front side of the palace and place them elsewhere."

"I'm not moving my division. I have orders to be there."

"Your orders are dismissed then." Byakuya said. "Your division is no longer needed to protect the front as the _samurais_ have the situation under control. I suggest you guard the Empress' private barracks if you truly can't restrain yourself from your duties."

"What was that?" Ichigo growled.

"Sir...?" A female voice called that belonged to a maid who entered the scene with a bow behind Kurosaki Ichigo. "Your _kimono_ is ready, Your Majesty—will you be done soon?"

Byakuya turned his head. "Yes, of course." He turned his head back to Ichigo. "In the time being I expect your division to be removed from the front side of the palace, Kurosaki Ichigo—it is not needed there _anymore_."

* * *

"These flowers for Shiba _-san_ are so nice, don't you think Ishida- _kun_?" Orihime said as she picked up the remaining petals that graced the table as the maids and servants cleaned up the Eastern gardens.

"I agree, Inoue- _san_ these flowers are really nice. Kuchiki- _san_ must've really loved the flower bouquets you made for her and her Ladies since she made you her flower woman." Uryū said as he helped her pick up the petals.

"You really think so? I made sure to choose all of Shiba- _san_ 's favorite colours! But those Elders told me that everything had to go with the wedding plan so...these really aren't my best but, I hope Shiba-san liked it."

"Well who wouldn't love your work, Inoue- _san_ —I really like how you contrasted the colours."

"Oh really? Thanks Uryū! I promise I'll make you the _best_ flower bouquets for your wedding, Ishida- _kun_."

"O-Oh really...you want to make _me_ flowers, Inoue- _san_? You don't have to go through that much trouble, you know."

"No, I insist! Tell me, what's your favorite colour? I'll start now if you want." She smiled with bliss.

"Um, well I don't really have a favorite colour, Inoue- _san_."

"Everyone has a favorite colour! Hmm, let's see. Well, your hair is kind of bluish so, do you like blue?"

"Well y-yeah! Blue's great, Inoue- _san_."

"Alright then! I'll get started with my flower picking soon and choose all the shades of blue for your bouquet!" Orihime said.

"Thanks for going through all this trouble." Uryū said.

"It's really fine, Ishida- _kun_! And besides, I love weddings!"

"O-Oh you like weddings, Inoue- _san_?"

"Well don't you? I can't get enough of them! The love, the happiness, the excitement, the beauty..." Her words faded away shortly as the radiant smile and glimmer she carried in her eyes faded away into something more serious and melancholic. She lowered her head in deep thought as Uryū stared in concern.

"Inoue- _san_...? What's wrong?" Uryū asked.

Her eyes widened as she immediately became flustered at his concern. "Huh? O-Oh nothing, Ishida- _kun_ it's just that...well..."

"You can tell me, Orihime."

"Well...Kurosaki- _kun_ wasn't at the wedding...and he hasn't been feeling good lately and I'm just kind of worried about him, but I don't want to bug him too much by asking. I went to his room this morning and he had glass shards all over his floor and it reeked of alcohol and his shirt looked really wet with dried tears and I just...I just wished Kurosaki- _kun_ would open up to me more, that's all."

"No need to worry, Inoue- _san_. Ichigo is too much of an idiot right now to acknowledge the fact that anyone wants to help him. I tried talking to him after the wedding but he didn't want to talk to anybody else about it."

"You talked to Kurosaki- _kun_?"

"Yeah, after the wedding. He didn't seem too happy to talk about it so I left him in peace after a while of him not talking." Uryū explained.

"O-Oh..." Orihime said. "Do you think...Kurosaki- _kun_ will get better soon? He's been so sad for the past few days and all I want to do is help him but I don't know how."

"He can't stay upset for long, Inoue- _san_ —that idiot, Ichigo is probably just having a bad day. He'll get better soon and when he's ready, he'll tell us."

"Maybe you're right, Uryū—maybe Kurosaki- _kun_ is just having a few bad days, that's all."

 _I hope._

"By the way, you made an error when you mentioned Empress Shiba-Auris' name, Inoue- _san_."

"Huh? I did?"

"She's no longer Shiba- _san_ , Orihime it's now Kuchiki- _san_."

"Oh right! Thanks, Uryū I completely forgot! Kuchiki- _san_ 's her name now!"

"It's gonna take a while to get used to, but we'll get the hang of it sooner or later."

"It must feel really strange for her to be addressed by a new last name, but I think it really suits her, don't ya think?"

"Yeah, the name Kuchiki Rukia suits her quite well and it's also easier to say than Empress Shiba-Auris."

"I agree, but isn't she still adding Auris to her last name, Uryū?"

"Well yeah, I think so. I mean, the Auris family are the rightful holders of the Emperor's name. For her to discard it means to give the Kuchiki clan full control of the Emperor's legacy and the Auris family name."

"But...if she and the new Emperor are to have a child, wouldn't the child take the father's last name, not hers?"

"That's correct, Inoue- _san_. But since Empress Shiba-Auris is the first female heir the Auris family has ever had, the child would take his mother's last name to uphold the Auris clan's family name."

"Oh, I understand now. The same thing would've happened if Emperor Shiba was still alive, in order to continue the legacy of their name. But then...why does Kuchiki- _san_ have to change her last name?"

"Well, the noble families are quite strange. They believe if the Emperor and Empress are to rule together they must have the same last name as the Empress is the Emperor's wife and the Emperor is the Empress' husband. Therefore since they are a married couple, the last name of the Emperor automatically goes to the Empress as well, Inoue- _san_."

"I understand." She smiled as she picked up the last few petals remaining on the table and transferred them into the basket she held in her hand. Uryū helped her with the remaining flowers and petals before placing his possessions into her basket. "Well...it was nice talking to you Uryū but I have to get started on the flowers and petals that will be used for the second wedding."

"It was nice talking to you too, Inoue- _san_. I'll see you at the second wedding." Uryū said as he watched her give him one last smile before turning around and walking away. Uryū prepared himself to turn around but Orihime's voice caused him to turn back again and meet her grey.

"By the way, you made an error when you mentioned Kuchiki- _san_ 's name, Ishida- _kun_."

His eyes slightly widened in surprise. "Huh?" Uryū said as he blinked in confusion at the half-turned woman who stood several spaces away.

"She's no longer Empress Shiba-Auris, Uryū it's now Empress Kuchiki-Auris." Orihime said with a final smile before walking away.

And with that, the man with glasses smiled as he walked away.

* * *

Ichigo turned around to spot the Lieutenant still standing in his way. To his surprise, the Lieutenant said nothing at all before walking past him like his leader had done just now.

"Hey—wait." Ichigo said before turning around again to see the man with ink tattoos for eyebrows and a burgundy cloth wrapped tightly around his forehead. "There isn't enough space for your _samurais_ to join us, Abarai." Ichigo said as the red-haired man fully turned around.

"And what the hell is your first name? Talking like this scares the crap out of me—I'm not a noble." Ichigo finished before Renji opened his mouth to reply.

"Don't worry about it, I can never understand how nobles do it anyway but they rule our society and land so what else can we do about it? And the name's Renji—what's yours?"

"It's Ichigo, Kurosaki Ichigo. I'm the Lord of the 3rd Division that protects the Empress."

"Now I understand why you were stationed at the front. I heard there are specific divisions that were close to protect the Empress."

"Yeah, there's three of them—mine, Tōshirō's, and Jūshirō's. We're the closest division to the Empress while the others are her personal guards to handle other tasks unrelated to ours."

"Isn't there also a _samurai division_ that's associated with this palace?"

"Yeah but they're not ran by Lords, they're ran by diamyos such as the one you got there yourself."

"I don't think it'll be necessary to have them around anymore now that His Majesty is Emperor."

"Why?"

"Our _samurai_ division is pretty badass, Ichigo. No one can beat them."

"Can't beat the one Kaien trained. They're the most badass people I've met, they'll destroy you and if they could, they could destroy this palace too."

"The only destruction to this palace will be you, dumbass."

"Hey—what the hell is that suppose to mean?"

"Arguing with your soon-to-be Emperor isn't necessarily a smart idea, idiot. He'll be sworn in tomorrow as Emperor and after that, the thirteen Divisions will be his to rule."

"I know that, but he can't just tell me to remove my division that's been protecting the Empress for almost two years."

"He can, _now_ that he's the new Emperor. I wouldn't go picking a fight with him, Ichigo—it's a good way to get your fucking head bashed in."

"Trust me, I'm not trying to. But Rukia has the right to choose whomever she wants to protect her. Even as the Empress, she still has her rights too."

"Who's this Rukia person?"

"Idiot, it's the Empress—Empress Shiba-Auris."

"Oh—yeah, right. Man, you two really are close. Any noble who gets called by their first name would usually have the person's head chopped and placed on a silver platter."

"Well Rukia's different from the other nobles. She isn't all about nobility or money."

" _Diamyo_ Kuchiki isn't going to like that. He's a pretty reserved guy, he values pride amongst anything besides his family name and honor. I hope she's not _too_ unnoble or he may have a problem."

"How can he have a problem with Rukia? She'll probably treat him like a king and it'll never be enough."

"Well, _Diamyo_ Kuchiki is sort of like that. But maybe things won't turn out so bad after all."

"Please," Ichigo scoffed. "It's already gone bad and they just got married."

"I'm not saying he's this type of guy, but tonight _is_ their nuptial night after the dinner they _are_ expected to do something to consummate their marriage. So hopefully by then they'll have the air cleared between them and they'll have an heir on the spot."

"She'd never have sex with him." Ichigo said.

"What makes you say that?"

"Rukia isn't the type to have sex with just anybody. Even if it _is_ their nuptial night, he's still a stranger to her so she might delay things until it's time to produce an heir."

"Ya think so? I don't know. _Diamyo_ Kuchiki usually has all women on their knees at the sight of him. It's ridiculous but it's true."

"She has more dignity than that to fall onto her knees for him, Renji. She's not like that and I hope he isn't going to expect her to be like that."

"I doubt it. Ya see...between me and you, this isn't _Diamyo_ Kuchiki's first real marriage."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "He was married before?!"

"Lower your voice down, dumbass. I don't want anyone to hear this." Renji whispered. "Anyways, yeah—he was married before to a woman from the Rukongai District named Kuchiki Hisana. The Elders were reluctant to the marriage at first since she was basically a peasant through their eyes from the Rukongai District but _Diamyo_ Kuchiki fought with them to accept their marriage. And when they did, they were married."

"So what the hell happened after that?"

"Well, they were married for five years until Lady Hisana got ill with an incureable disease during the fourth year of their marriage. After that, she became incapable of doing almost anything and died in the spring of their fifth year together." Renji explained.

"How long has it been since then?"

"Around five years. But _Diamyo_ Kuchiki still loves her so...I don't think his marriage to the Empress is going to start on the right foot."

"Do the Auris Elders know anything about this? Does _anybody_ know anything about this?"

"No, that's why I'm asking you to keep this a secret. After Lady Hisana died, the Kuchiki Elders decided to her erase their marriage publicly as if it had never happened— much to _Diamyo_ Kuchiki's dismay. But it had to be done in order for him to become engaged to the Empress and marry her today."

"But how would they do that? How would they erase his marriage like it was never known?"

"I don't know but the Kuchiki Elders have worked very hard to erase the memory, even the people who _attended_ the wedding don't remember their marriage and frankly, it's best to keep it that way. Now that he's the new Emperor, he can't afford for just anybody to know about this. That's why I'm asking you to keep your mouth shut—I'm not even suppose to tell you about this. He'll kill me if he knows I told you."

"Yeah, yeah don't worry. I won't tell anybody but, he's cheating the Auris Elders—you know that damn well that if they find out he was married to a commoner before, his honor will be destroyed along with him, too."

"That's exactly why no one should know about this. It's his pride at stake and he values his pride amongst anything."

"What about Rukia? Doesn't she deserve to know that her husband was married to someone else before her?"

"I'm sorry, Ichigo but you can't tell her. That'll only make their relationship more complicated than it already is."

"So what, he's just going to lie to her and get away with it?"

"He's not lying to her at all, nobody ever asked him if he was married before."

"But, she's his wife, Renji. Doesn't she deserve to know just like he knows about Kaien?"

"In this case, no. It'll complicate things, trust me. Just keep this a secret from anybody else and the Empress. I know you're pretty close with her but you can't tell her about _Diamyo_ Kuchiki's first marriage."

"And if I decide to?"

"You won't—you're not that type of guy. That's why I told you."

Ichigo's eyes brightened in surprise.

"Now as much as I'd like to stay here and chat, I have to move the _samurai_ division before _Diamyo_ Kuchiki realizes I'm still here." Renji said.

"Right. I'll see you around, Renji." Ichigo said before turning around and disappearing down the hall.

* * *

Rukia felt exhausted.

Drained of any type of energy her body could possibly produce in her weary state of exhaustion.

The tea ceremony had made her legs worn out after constantly kneeling to each Elder of the groom's clan (and her own) to deliver tea.

Everyone had sat on chairs while she stood on the left and he stood at the right as they had poured the substance into each cup after addressing each Elder by their formal title and name.

Then had came the feast—where the men and women sat separately and ate separately—which she had been eternally grateful for to avoid eating with her cold husband.

And now she walked side by side with her new husband, who did not even _dare_ spare her another look with his eyes after their encounter at the dinner.

He did not spare her any words as well. In fact, the only words she remembered hearing before leaving the dining hall was a _"Let's go_." Before they departed from the crowded scene and headed towards their new chambers—her newly renovated chambers that she had redesigned for the sake of him.

His posture was stiff—straight and perfect while she, on the other hand couldn't help but slouch in her exhausted state. Her breathing returned to its uncertainty as they reached closer to their nuptial chambers near the Western end.

 _Was he really...going to do_ _ **it**_ _with me, tonight?_

They hadn't really discussed what would happen in their nuptial chamber rooms. After all, it _was_ a very uncomfortable subject. He was a bit older than her, would he feel uncomfortable proceeding with her? Or would he even proceed with her at all?

She was still young.

She didn't want to produce an heir at such a young age.

And if he intended on producing an heir tonight then they would most definitely _not_ engage in anything tonight as she was not ready to become a mother just yet.

Engaging in something like this again was already giving her shudders. She had been so young then—when it all had happened with Kaien. But after ten years of marriage, she had become _used_ to doing it with that one person that offered her more than anyone could offer in a million years.

Then came Ichigo.

Even after two years, they had done _it_ only once. Five month long missions and her own foolish running away had ruined a majority of their secluded relationship—making it only three months long in true legitimacy. But it was much easier to do with him than it would be to do with Kuchiki Byakuya. As a man as emotionless as himself, did he even feel passion? Would he respond to her needs?

Rukia didn't know.

But certainly if she was ever to do something like that with Kuchiki Byakuya it would, without question be the most uncomfortable experience she would ever face.

A crimson blush heated her cheeks as she looked away to the ground as she imagined the strained and awkward position they could possibly be in if they could not do anything right to please. How awkward would that be! To be there...together...alone...possibly naked...and no way to proceed. The thought itself was already ridiculous enough to forget proceeding. Let alone, produce an heir.

They reached the end of the elongated hall.

The _shoji_ of her chambers were already pushed right open with jade firecrackers, lanterns, and veils shielding the bed to decorate the newly renovated room. Sashes of jade fabric hung in curves around the room as the new bed sheet was ready and themed with jade and gold.

The door was closed behind them as they entered the large room—the line of candles were lit with a flame of fire that surrounded the room, making the entire scene as sensual as it was suppose to be—before she sat down.

Unlike her he stood and suddenly walked away to face the _shōji_ that separated her garden. His muscular back faced hers as he stared at the closed _shōji_ —inspiring a deep level of discomfort as she remained seated on the bed.

"Do you intend on producing an heir tonight?" He asked with a deep tone that made her flinch in surprise at his question.

"No...I don't." Rukia said quietly in response as she looked down.

"Do you have a date pre-planned of when you would like to produce an heir?" He asked.

"No...I don't." She said apologetically. "The Elders said I do not have to produce an heir in my first year of marriage."

"I see, and do you share the same wish?"

"Well...yes, I kind of do. I'm still very young and...the pressure of being a mother right now isn't necessarily what I want right now. After all, there are still so many things left to be resolved. And truthfully...I do not believe I'm ready for it—even though being a mother has always been one of my dreams."

"I understand. Therefore, my presence will not be needed here for tonight." He said and her eyes sheened with a wave a shock.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty but you can't just leave. If anyone is to catch up it will be a disgrace to the Auris clan and Kuchiki clan." Rukia said in disbelief that he would even consider leaving even if they were not going to have... _sex_.

"I have already made the arrangements to proceed with my absence."

"But if you get caugh—"

"Your concern is not necessary." He said. "I will return in the morning before the coronation procession in the Jade Hall."

"And if you get caught?"

 _Why are you trying to make him stay?_

"I do not intend on being discovered as it is my very pride at stake." The _Diamyo_ said and Rukia lowered her eyes back to her cloth. "Therefore...(her eyes looked up again)."

"Under no circumstances should anyone be coming either in or out of your chambers—including you or anyone else you might prefer to stay. You do well by knowing that if you are to be caught, the Elders will be greatly shamed." He said.

"What are you implying?" She asked.

"I think I've made myself very clear. Do not leave this room until my arrival in the morning. We will leave together, so no one becomes suspicious if you are to deceive my orders." He said and she felt like a child being ordered around by a parent.

It was ridiculous.

She felt powerless and futile in his hands. And it was only the first day.

She was fine with the idea of not consummating their marriage. Nothing else brought her more joy than to avoid an awkward and uncomfortable experience with him in a bed but...to leave? To leave her here at the nuptial night of their wedding? That was wrong. Utterly wrong and even if she was still not in favor of this marriage, she was hurt by the fact that he was pathetically trying to run away from her and could do it in such pride and honor that it didn't feel like such a bad thing at all.

 _Coward._ She thought before she nodded her head in response to his words.

In the process of doing that, he turned away from the closed _shōji_ and departed through the doors—she watched him walk away and boy, all she could wonder is what would've happened if he stayed.

* * *

 **End Note**

And that's all for this chapter! As for ByaRuki's relationship, I know it's stressful not having them together as of now but, this is _absolutely necessary_ for them to progress in their relationship chapter-wise. Byakuya is still struggling with Rukia's resemblance to Hisana and Rukia is still deeply conflicted with her heart that's focused on Ichigo. I promise you that in the later chapters your ByaRuki feels will explode (as well as your IchiRuki ones because one is never enough).

 **Note:** Now I'm off to the beach tomorrow so please let me know how much you liked or hated this chapter in your reviews and PMs! Lots of love!

\- _NairaRains/kagomesangos_


	6. In Which He Becomes Emperor

**Pre-Note (Long)**

57 pages later (+ planner) and 8,997 words (+Pre Note and End Note) later this happened. Before I begin, I would like to clarify one comment left by a Guest reviewer (which may also be some of your thoughts as well) so prepare for a paragraph in this pre-note.

Guest: Kinda disappointed...No more Ichiruki?

TEHH _is_ in fact, a ByaRuki and IchiRuki story however, _because_ of the fact that it is a ByaRuki and IchiRuki story their relationships cannot have physical interactions in each and every chapter unless I make every chapter double or even triple the length they usually are (which is usually over 10,000 words max.) if it doesn't fit the current plot line. In the last chapter, the physical presence of IchiRuki was not there but that doesn't mean the mental presence of their relationship wasn't. I haven't discarded their relationship, it is in fact still there and present in the plot line as a minor (and eventually major) conflict in the story. I know being patient is hard but I can't make Rukia run into Ichigo's arms so quickly because it would be unrealistic and the purpose of an author is to make the story as realistic as possible as well as the characters. **OOCness** is something I will discuss in later chapters or maybe the next (I had oral surgery a few days ago and I'm on medication so I'm usually exhausted nowadays as I have stitches in my gums and constant headaches so...) but as an author, I can't make IchiRuki happen so quickly to stay true to Rukia's character, Ichigo's character, Byakuya's character, and most importantly, the story I wanted to write. **This is important:** to the  Guest who wrote this, I'm thankful and glad you wrote this review because the thought had never crossed my mind to explain this earlier so now, my readers know what to expect further on from this story so thank you for the review! And this message was in no way written to target you my love, I wrote it so I could clarify this with you and everyone else who might be sharing the same thoughts. Please forgive me if I offended you if I did, this was completely unintentional :)

 **Disclaimer** : I do **NOT o** wn Bleach because if I did ByaRuki would be canon. However, I **do** own this plot.

* * *

EDIT 04/02/17: Several scenes have been deleted and some rewritten with a different outcome.

* * *

 **In Which He Becomes Emperor**

Fireflies danced carelessly in the air as the _diamyo_ walked slowly down the cobblestone path. They moved around Byakuya's tall and broadened figure as he walked impassively down the pathway before coming face to face with his Lieutenant, Renji.

"I take it the warrior did not remove his Division." Byakuya stated blandly before Renji nodded his head in response to him as he rubbed the back of his hurting neck.

"Uh—no sir, he didn't. It was a bit crowded but your order was executed perfectly." Renji assured as his hand left the back of his neck.

"I see. What a nuisance." Byakuya replied and all Renji could do was laugh.

"He isn't that bad if you ask me, Your Majesty. He just has a bit of delinquency issues, that's all."

"Delinquency issues are far from that boy's problem, Abarai—it is his ambition that is an issue. It seems to provoke him to say or do things that are far beyond his reach."

"Well, we might as well just leave him, Your Majesty. I mean, he hasn't done any harm to us."

"I do not plan on doing anything to the warrior although his level of respect concerns me."

"If it bothers you that much then just leave it to me, _Diamyo_ Kuchiki. I'll talk to Ichigo tonight and set him straight. Shūhei, Rangiku, Izuru, and Lord Kyōraku are heading out to a red-light district in the Rukongai—Rangiku said she invited Ichigo so if I see him, I'll let him know."

"You are heading out to a brothel in the Rukongai, Abarai?"

"Um yeah I am...Rangiku invited me to go with Ichigo when we were guarding at the front after the wedding. I didn't wanna go but Shūhei and the guys managed to convince me to spend a few hours there so, it looks like I'm going."

"I see. You are now acquainted with the Lieutenant of the 3rd Division and the 9th Division along with a Lady and two Lords."

"Yes, sir."

"Do not act carelessly and dishonor my Division, Abarai. I expect a full report on the warrior's response by tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sir." Renji said. "Is there anything else?" He asked before he prepared himself to take his leave.

"No, you are dismissed." Byakuya said before the Lieutenant prepared himself to walk past him and meet his newly-made friends at the front. However, in the midst of walking, his body came to a halt. And now he mentally questioned, _aren't you suppose to be with your wife?_

"Um sir..."

"Yes, Abarai."

"Forgive me but...aren't you suppose to be with Her Majesty right now? Not—ya know— _here_ with me." Renji said before Byakuya closed his eyes.

"No."

"Why not? She can't be that bad, _Diamyo_ Kuchiki. Ichigo spoke quite highly of her—she seems pretty nice."

"Have you seen her face, Abarai?" Byakuya asked before Renji shook his head.

"No...not yet, but she isn't ugly—is she?"

"If you haven't seen her face, Abarai then I'm afraid there is no meaning to this conversation."

"Huh—wait, Your Majesty..."

"I will not have this discussion with you, you have people waiting."

"Forgive me, sir." Renji said apologetically. "I didn't mean to intrude."

"Oh Renji!" Sang a female voice that Byakuya recognized from afar as one of the Empress' loyal Ladies.

"Go." Byakuya said before swiftly brushing past him with closed eyes to leave. Renji muttered an ' _alright_ ' before walking past him to join Rangiku and the rest of the gang. Renji said nothing, but what did the Emperor mean by the Empress' face?

She wasn't ugly.

Renji was sure of that.

But then—what did Emperor Kuchiki mean?

"Where's Ichigo?" Renji questioned as he approached the loud and extensive gang.

"He isn't coming—something about not feeling well." Shūhei said before Rangiku drunkingly laughed.

"He'll join us another time." Rangiku said. "Now let's go and have some fun!"

"Lady Rangiku, maybe you should lay off the _sake_ for a little while. You're a bit drunk..." Izuru said and she smiled.

"Awh c'mon, Izuru! I'll be fine, let's just go before all the good dancers and _sake_ are gone!"

"Hey, Izuru—are you sure Ichigo isn't feeling well?" Renji asked as his luck was cursed with the Lord's absence.

"Lord Kurosaki hasn't been feeling well for these past two days. I'm not that surprised that he didn't come." Izuru said. "Lord Kyōraku, on the other hand is already there."

"Don't tell me you have the hots for him, Renji. Ichigo's as straight as a moose." Rangiku laughed.

"Of course not! I'm not... _gay_." He said. "I was just asking!"

"Right, now c'mon! There's a carriage waiting for us out front." Rangiku said before grabbing all their hands (and inevitably their bodies) to the gates where the carriage could be seen up front. They were all shoved in and Rangiku forced the Coachmen to go and after that, Renji knew—the rest of the night would be nothing but a blur.

* * *

It was silent all over again.

The night had fallen back to its endless peace and slumber and Byakuya could no longer motivate himself to walk any further as he sought a resolution to his current situation.

Perhaps he had been too harsh, but he was not prepared to share a bed with that woman at all. He had made note of the fact that the warrior may try to intervene and enter her chambers to pleasure her needs but then again, he was only using the man as a weapon to agitate her to move further away. What he saw that day had indeed seemed quite explanatory at the time and day, but as they progressed further on, he realized that it may have not been true and that it was a false accusation.

Regardless, the encounter he had seen was the key in keeping her further away. And as long as Kurosaki Ichigo continued to beckon in her conversations, she would stay away.

And he would too. And that's exactly how he planned on living from now on in the palace or when he met her face to face.

* * *

She walked up and down alongside the bed as she tried to pace herself as time passed.

Where was he?

The maids were coming in any second now and he was still nowhere to be found.

What type of excuse would she use for his absence?

She couldn't just say he left early because they were _suppose_ to leave together, not alone. It would also make the Elder clans suspicious on why he decided on leaving her early.

W _here are you?_

She couldn't even come up with a proper excuse and yet a tiny part of her was still sure he would come. It was like what he had said last night, _I do not intend on being discovered as it is my very pride at stake._

Even _he_ understood that if his absence was to be heard of, she'd be practically a laughing-stock of the palace regardless of her position as the Empress.

It was ridiculous—absolutely ridiculous that she was forced to feel this way. To feel her heart thumping so vastly, head swimming with bland and unrealistic excuses...but it couldn't be helped. It was _her_ honor at risk here and his.

But then again, did he even believe she _had_ honor? The conversation they had when they first met was still fresh in her mind. The way he had questioned her honor so easily after he had mistook what had happened with Ichigo...After he had believed she was with Ichigo. He had believed that...she had slipped away from one of the most important nights in the Elder's life to have some cheap and quick moment with her lover.

He was wrong.

 _Wrong_.

 _Ichigo and I are nothing anymore_ — _why doesn't he understand that? Everything he saw that day was completely misunderstood._

 _Am I that stained to him that he believes I'm not worthy of his attention? Let alone, his interest that he will never seem to have in anything._

She was stained—yes, the Empress was stained but did she not have any rights to her own freedom? Was she destined to be a widowed, lonely, ruler for the rest of her so-called life? No. She never intended on spending her life lonely anyways and Ichigo had helped her with that. So she became stained.

From a blank canvas she had become splashed with red—the first feeling of love she had once contained—then grey had come and covered the blood—the first feeling of grieve after Kaien's death—grey had overruled the colour but then an orange ray had saved the day—Ichigo professed something more than love...but companionship...something she hadn't felt for a long while—and now the orange was fading back to grey—Kuchiki Byakuya was the grey, itself with his eyes. That was the end of her story of being stained. She had been stained with four different colours and each of them gave her something new to feel, something new to understand, something new to be given.

 _Maybe it is true_ — _I was involved with Ichigo before but...what he saw that day was far from it, why can't he just understand?_

 _Every time I say something, he refers it back to Ichigo. Why Ichigo? Why him? Why doesn't he understand that I let him go? Why is it so hard to understand that I let Ichigo g_ —

"Your Majesty?" Called a small voice that she immediately recognized as a maid. "May we come in? The maids and I are ready to have you changed."

Rukia gulped.

"Um..." She looked around in panic to see if the _diamyo_ was anywhere to be found but as she had expected, he was nowhere near. "Um, there's no need for that—I'm coming out." She said towards the metal door before it was cracked open to reveal around five maids waiting at the front of the door.

"Your Majesty?"

Rukia ran to the door to close it ½ way before any of them could get in.

"I'm ready." She assured before slipping through the door and the maids blinked in surprise. "Let's go, shall we." Rukia said as she began to walk away from the chamber doors.

"But Your Majesty, His Majesty—"

"We shouldn't be late for the coronation." Rukia said quickly as the maid extended in her hand in pleading eyes.

"But His Majesty—"

"We need to go." Rukia cut in again as she continued to walk. Her heart was beating so fast that she forgot how to breathe.

"Um, of course." One of them said behind her. She took a deep breath as she looked around the corridor, absently searching for the _diamyo_ to appear but she knew it was rather forlorn, because he was nowhere near. Her maids followed quietly behind her but she knew they were dying to speak but she wouldn't allow them to speak another word.

How could she find him?

Where was he and what was he doing now?

"Um...Your Majesty," Called a maid and Rukia inhaled a sharp breath before turning around. They were determined—she never saw them like this, so determined to speak. But she assumed it was a trait they must've got from her after the freedom she had permitted them to talk and be free.

"Yes?" She asked kindly although the most slightest hint of annoyance had hued her voice.

 _Please don't ask me, please don't ask me, please don't ask me._

"Um, His Majesty...he asked me to send for you to meet him in the Jade Hall. The coronation procession has been moved to the Court Rune Hall."

"He what?" Rukia asked as the maid timidly nodded her head.

She felt the pressure weighting her heart simmer down but there was only one problem with hearing the news of him being here.

The maids knew.

Rukia frowned.

 _Argh!_

"His Majesty alerted us in the morning that you were still asleep and asked us not to wake you. He had breakfast in the Eastern gardens and told us to retrieve you and get you ready for the coronation." Another maid spoke up.

"Please do not be upset with us for interrupting you." Another said.

"Forgive us for being so meddlesome." Another said.

 _He made an excuse..._

She blinked—contemplating everything she had just heard in a few seconds to strengthen their story. The fact that he told them that she was still 'asleep' meant that they did something—yes, it appeared that way and being the 'husband' he was, he didn't want anybody to wake her up and went off to eat breakfast.

Yes, that worked.

"I'm so sorry..." Rukia apologized quickly as relief washed over her being. "I didn't mean to appear angry, I just didn't want to be late for the coronation. After all, once my husband gets appointed Emperor I have quite a lot of things to do and sign."

"It is alright, Your Majesty—we should get going then." She suggested before Rukia nodded her head.

And that very moment, didn't happen too long after her decision.

Nobles eyed her with a smug smile, but she knew it was all because of the wedding and her supposed nuptial night that they _assumed_ had happened. After timidly avoiding their gaze and searching around to see familiar predator eyes, she ended up meeting the eyes of Lady Rangiku who looked hammered and half asleep.

"Lady Rangiku." She acknowledged as the woman smiled.

"Empress Rukia! Oh, it's been so long!" The woman tightly squeezed her petite frame as if she was lemon and Rukia struggled as her prey. She could already taste the stench of _sake_ circling around the woman's body before she released her and allowed her to breathe. She had been out drinking, Rukia could tell and now she was practically half-eyed open and asleep.

"Maybe you should return back to your chambers, Rangiku—you're still drunk." Rukia said as she tried to hold her friend steady.

"I'm fine! Don't worry!" Rangiku assured but even if her words said so, her body and mind were certainly not.

"Rangiku...you shouldn't be seen like this. Return back to your chambers and get some rest, I'll ask Omaeda to cook you a proper meal and ask Orihime to bring you some medicine."

"Awh, look at you! So worried about your friend and her health! This is what I love about you, Rukia! You always worry about everyone but yourself!" She said and Rukia smiled.

"Oh really...well thank you but seriously, you _are_ my only concern. I'll ask one of the maids to h—"

"So...how was last night?! Tell me everything! I want to know every position, every orgasm, how big his co—"

"Rangiku!" Rukia hushed immediately with her hand flying to the taller woman's mouth as a blush crept up on her face and a slight smile. Her skin was heavily flushed with the crimson shade as her face burnt with fire due to Rangiku's vulgar profanity.

"Whaattt? Oh c'mon! There's no reason to be ashamed Rukia, everyone knows you did it!"

 _It was...okay_ , she thought as she contemplated on what to say. No—that would mean he was a bad lover when she really didn't know _what_ he was nor did she _care_ what he was. But she needed to make it come off believable and saying 'It was amazing!' only boosted his ego and she was not about to do that at all.

"Rangiku!" She said again as a noble pair eyed them strangely before Rukia regained her composure as the Empress and lost her smile. The noble pair noticed her change and bowed respectfully before leaving the two women in peace. Her posture straightened and she removed her hand from Rangiku's mouth before allowing her hand to fall down to the sides of her arms.

 _'It was...great—let's just leave the details for later. We really shouldn't be talking about this in public though before anyone overhears us talking about...sex.'_

"Rangiku, listen I—"

"You didn't do it." She finished.

Rukia blinked in a mild moment of confusion and then denial.

"Huh?" She asked in surprise. "W-What are you...I don't know what you're talking about."

God, she was a horrible liar.

"We did do it, it wasn't as 'great' as you thought it would be but it was...good."

 _She's just drunk, Rukia—she doesn't know you both didn't do a thing._

"Don't lie. I know you two didn't do it. He left you on your nuptial night." Rangiku said with her face falling serious and her hands reaching out to grip Rukia's in all seriousness and concern. Rukia watched the way the spirited woman she knew fall into such solemnity and concern with a simple gesture of her hand. She knew her main concern should've been on _how_ Rangiku found out about his absence, but she was already too focused on the fact that her friend looked way more concerned for her than anything else in the entire world. And maybe it was just the alcohol, but Rukia watched in awe.

"Listen, I know it's too early to tell you this but, go back to Ichigo." She whispered.

"Huh?" Rukia looked taken aback at the bizarre suggestion.

"I feel horrible that he left you on his nuptial night and me and the girls boasted the idea of him being such a good thing for you to the point where you let someone you loved go to be with someone who wants nothing to do with you. Even if you two didn't know each other, he still shouldn't have left you. You didn't need to have sex or do anything, but he left you and now you're acting like nothing happened because you're so strong and kind and you don't want to ruin his or your own legacy." Rangiku said.

 _She knew...oh my dear God, she actually knew..._

This wasn't just the 'drunk' Rangiku assuming something because she appeared kind of down or different. No—she actually knew because she actually saw Kuchiki Byakuya leave her.

How did she know?

Who told her?

Who saw him?

Despair slowly clouded her eyes as her shoulder sunk in embarrassment. She released a sigh before closing her eyes. If Rangiku knew she couldn't even imagine who else knew. Who else saw him? Who else knew?

"Rangiku..."

"You don't have to say anything. It's just a piece of advice just in case you decide to change your mind."

"How did you know?"

"I saw him. It was late and I was going out with Shūhei, Izuru, and Renji and he was there." Rangiku said.

 _And he said he wouldn't get caught._

"Oh...was um, anyone else there?" She asked. "Did they see him walking alone?"

"No, I don't think so. I just hope nobody else saw him because it would be a shame on you."

Rukia released another sigh. And although she still felt embarrassed, she was glad Rangiku was the one to find out and not Ichigo or her consorts or any other stranger that could use this against her. There was nothing else left to be done. Rangiku knew and as long as no one else found out about his absence, she had nothing to worry about or fear. It was just a tiny speck in her heart that feared it would be released.

The Empress...rejected by her husband on her nuptial night. Left alone to lay on her bed in shame and despair. God, she never wanted to hear that being said or have it written on the newspaper or screen. It was disgraceful. Disgraceful upon her not him and now all she had left to do was protect him. Protect her and her legacy. She couldn't afford to be shamed for being left alone. She didn't deserve it—not at all.

The sound of a horn from the Court Rune Hall nearby caught her attention and she knew the coronation was about to begin.

"Return back to your chambers, Rangiku. If I can, I'll come visit you soon but _please_ don't tell the other Ladies. Let's just keep this a secret, I don't want anyone else to know what happened, alright?"

"Of course. And besides, I need the sleep." She said and Rukia tenderly smiled before letting her hand go and entering the Jade Hall to find the man who wanted to ruin it all.

He wasn't here.

As expected.

She should've just reported to the Court Rune Hall instead of wasting her time waiting for him. After all, this morning's minor rush of adrenaline should've already told her that he wasn't a man who kept his promises.

 _Not to mention, Rangiku..._

With a final look around, she turned her around to walk away.

First, he assumed she was with Ichigo.

Second, he questioned her pride.

Third, he left her on their nuptial night.

And now she knew, minor events had such major impacts on bigger things. She couldn't afford to have anyone figure out the truth about his leaving. Political or not—they were married.

She walked all the way to the broadened space that acted as a door before his tall and broad frame appeared in front her eyes and she did not smile.

"Where were you?" She questioned—her voice impassive but quiet. "You were suppose to meet me in our chambers so we could leave together."

His face was cold as he stared at her with no emotion in his tone.

"Returning to your chambers would've been a waste of time." He said and she said nothing. "Appearing together at the coronation seemed more authentic than leaving our chambers, together." He finished before she opened her mouth to speak.

"You should've told me you weren't coming."

"I sent a message with your maids."

"That isn't the point. You should've told me _before_ you left that you had no intention of coming back so I didn't have to worry like a fool or try to make an excuse."

"It would've been too risky to return to your chambers to inform you. And my Lieutenant was out attending to his own personal matters, I had no one to deliver the message."

"Then you should've stayed." She said bitterly before she began to walk away.

He caught her wrist before she could even move an inch away.

She turned.

"I don't remember telling you, you could leave."

"Huh?"

"Delinquency behavior is not tolerated in the Imperial Palace as you are aware you cannot leave without my permission."

"I do not need your permission to leave."

"I believe stubbornness is a trait you've harbored from the warrior, Kurosaki Ichigo quite well."

"I do not need your permission to leave." She repeated again. _Ichigo, this_ — _Ichigo, that_ — _stop bringing Ichigo into our conversations again and again._

He wasn't even appointed Emperor yet and he was already endorsing the palace's rules and most importantly, bringing the same person into their conversations over and over again to annoy her to the extent where she felt it was necessary to go insane.

"I see." He said before releasing his grip on her wrist.

"What are you—"

" _Leave_." He finished and she lowered her hand but kept his gaze.

"Excuse me?" His lids covered his eyes to lose the contact.

 _"_ I will not repeat myself. You heard my order loud and clear."

 _Bastard._

"I do not need your permission to leave nor do I need your _order_ to leave. I think you're forgetting _I'm_ the Empress, we're equal-in-status—therefore, I do not need your permission to leave."

"Your stubbornness will be the downfall of this country."

"Your ignorance will be the downfall of this race." She countered—his eyes opened and an eyebrow raised. "You're the type of person who has no consideration for others—as long as you're superior, nothing in the world matters but your superiority. You don't care about the society, you don't care about other people's decisions or point-of-views because as long as it's not seen through your very eyes, it's not important—it holds no values. You met me for the first time and you saw something—made a decision and misunderstood it. My point-of-view didn't matter, my pleading didn't matter, my voice didn't matter, and you say my stubbornness will create a downfall? No, Kuchiki Byakuya the downfall of this country will be you."

She stormed off as soon as her last words left her mouth—how dare he? How dare he mention her stubbornness would destroy her and this country when he couldn't even understand anybody's opinions or decisions? Let alone. care for anybody's pleading.

She had pleaded with him about Ichigo—practically drag her foot just to please him and act kindly to make their relationship work and he had the _nerve_ to say that to her face. He had the _nerve_ to tell her she needed his permission to leave?

Her face must've been heated with rage because when she stepped into the Court Rune Hall and bows were made, everyone kept asking if she was okay.

But she was not. Not as long as he was here.

Not as long as he reigned.

* * *

"...And now as the historic legacy of Emperor Shiba Kaien is left in the hands of the Kuchiki clan, the Imperial Court officially declares Kuchiki Byakuya—son of Kuchiki Sojun, a _diamyo_ and grandson of Kuchiki Ginrei, a _shogun_ —as the 10th generation Emperor of Japan." Announced the Emperor's royal announcer as the audience of _shoguns_ and _diamyos_ applauded at the pair who stood beside each other with a cold gleam.

Silky yellow tapestry—signifying nobility—rolled from the top of the first balcony surrounding the hall.

Rukia forced a smile as the icy cold Emperor beside her stared impassively at the audience below. The last bit of their conversation in the Jade Hall had left a bitter aura around the pair when they entered the Court Rune Hall.

A fragment of her being silently wished he had granted her a look of his face when they had first entered the Court Rune Hall, but he refused to look at her—clearly he was still silently enraged.

"Long may he reign, Emperor Kuchiki Byakuya." Chanted the enormous audience before they bowed to their knees again and bent their bodies to the floor to continue.

"To the Emperor!"

" _To the Emperor!_ " The audience repeated again on their knees.

"And to Her Majesty!" The announcer said.

" _And to Her Majesty!_ "

"Your Majesty...?"

"Huh?" Rukia said in surprise to the maid who was bent and waiting for her to drink away.

"Is everything alright?" She asked before Rukia nodded her head reassuringly to the maid.

"I'm fine, don't worry. I just don't feel like drinking today." A warm smile curved on her lips.

"O-Oh...that's alright—you shouldn't be drinking anyways, it is my fault, Your Majesty I should've gotten you some tea."

"No, no, it's alright—really." Rukia assured. "Forget the tea, I will drink some later."

"But Your Majesty—given your condition, you should be having tea regularly from now on. I will make sure the palace's maids are aware to serve you more tea from now on. Forgive my indiscretion, I was not thinking about your situation when I was asked to give you either tea or wine." The maid said apologetically before she bowed and Rukia's eyes, puzzled.

"My condition...?" Rukia asked in confusion before the maid timidly nodded her head with a smile.

" _Hai_ , the Elders have made all laborers aware about your expected pregnancy that is _suppose_ to be happening very soon. In preparation to that, they have asked all servants to serve you healthy and filling meals as well as tea with lotus seeds to ensure that you and His Majesty are able to reproduce very soon."

"Oh..." Rukia said with displeasure in her tone. They were meddling again...meddling to get her pregnant and have her life destroyed all over again after a single mistake.

"Well in that case, I'll drink the wine." Rukia said.

"Your Majesty, shall I get you a cup of tea?" She asked quietly before Rukia shook her head.

"She will drink the tea." A deep voice spoke on behalf of her.

" _Hai_ , Your Majesty." The maid said.

"I didn't ask for you to intervene. I don't want it."

"If you intend on pretending that you wish to get pregnant, you must drink the tea to avoid suspicion."

"It doesn't matter whether I drink it or not, they'll still come after me."

"I would suggest you get used to it. The Kuchiki Elders expect the same result."

"I hope not very soon."

"You made it clear that you did not wish to conceive during your first year of marriage, correct?" She nodded her head. "Then you should not expect it."

"Will they really comply?"

"No. However, they cannot force us now that we are married. The decision is yours."

"For how long?"

"For as long as you can conceive."

"I see." Rukia responded before she glanced at the crowd.

"If you're done, I wish to be left alone."

"Huh?" Rukia responded.

"I would like to familiarize myself with the Court—therefore you are not needed here."

"But I'm—"

"There is no use in sitting here if you are not providing any help." He continued.

"But I—"

"Your Majesty, perhaps His Majesty is right. You may join your Ladies for breakfast since there is no harem you have to attend to."

"I still have an obligation to be here." She argued.

"I am not saying that you do not, I am simply saying that it would be best for your own self interest if you left. There are matters you should attend to outside of the Court."

"I believe His Majesty is right, Your Majesty. May we...go?"

 _May she...?_

Rukia took one last glance with a scowl and muttered 'let's go' under her breath.

* * *

The corridor was silent.

Fire torches lit the way to her chambers and the guards were as silent as the night.

She had contemplated the fact of going to the kitchen to retrieve something to eat in the dark but she had decided against it in fear of being a bother to the servants who had kids and needed rest. Her stomach growled, but she was not the type to give in to hunger—she'd find something to do in the meantime to calm her hunger.

The rest of her day had gone slower, after breakfast, she had trained in the Jade Hall throughout the entire day. She did not rule a harem of women neither did she feel like participating in any other activities. She practiced swordsmanship and other defense techniques until the day had come to an end with no breaks in between, and now she was hungry.

She touched the shoji and slipped into her jade-veiled room. After the doors slowly came to a close, she pushed her weight off the door before turning around in a flawless circle to see her bed's jade veils parted to the side and a tray of food with a note inside.

Rukia's eyes stopped and widened at the food placed on the golden tray. She looked to the left and looked to the right before she approached the jade-covered bed and extended her hand to retrieve the note that had only one simple word written on the folded page.

 _ **Eat**_

She stared at the note.

She looked up to look at the tray before looking back down at the note in her hand. She flipped the _washi_ from the back to the front to see who it was from but in return, she found nothing but the word 'Eat'.

 _What the_ — _Ichigo?_

But no—Ichigo's writing would never be close to this calligraphy perfection clutched in her hand. She could recognize his messy penmanship anywhere and this...this wasn't his handwriting in her hand—it was someone else's.

She sat on the edge of the bed to drag the tray of food closer to her lap. Everything was still hot—some warm, but mostly hot—meaning only one thing, it had just arrived only a few minutes ago and now all she could wonder about was who would leave her food.

She shoved some rice into her mouth as she analyzed the note on the side of the bed.

Who would've done this?

Rukia raised the chopsticks to her lips again as she looked out the parted _shōji_ into her gardens—but wait.

Didn't she close those doors before she left this morning?

Were they always open? Or did she forget to close them again like she sometimes would?

They were parted wide open, with the silence of the night correspondent to the silence in her room and she swayed...who...who was that walking away?

* * *

 _On the Next Day..._

All that could be seen was an ambience of grey that plunged the imperial palace into nothing but mist as she walked down a familiar cobblestone path to reach her destination.

A picnic bench and a wisteria tree resided near a cold stream connected to the Withering Lotus River that started after a waterfall located only a few yards away.

Through the thick fog, she managed to make it all the way to the picnic table located beneath the hundreds of wisteria flowers that cascaded onto the bench. A basket hung from her right arm and a pile of papers were held in the other. She rested the papers onto the table before looking up at the wisteria tree with a sigh.

A cherry tree sprouting ripe and round cherries was located behind the wisteria tree. Rukia stared with delight at the cherry tree before her foot stepped onto one of the lower branches of it.

Eating a couple cherries shouldn't get me in trouble, she thought as she stared at the sprouting cherry branch.

She leaped onto the branch with her right hand holding up the crocodile green skirt of her _hanfu_ as her left hand clutched onto another branch higher up. She could feel the lavender sleeve of her top roll back as her hand extended again to reach another branch so she could climb onto the next.

By now, her entire body was almost heavenly with the thick gloom swallowing her whole and the cascading wisteria blocking her entire face—surely no one would notice that a noble woman was climbing a tree. Especially if she was suppose to be the Empress.

With one branch, came another and soon Rukia was so far up that she couldn't see the ground. But the ripest cherries resided on the very top and if she had any intention of savoring them properly, she had to get to the top. Her eyes glimmered in wonderment as they caught a hold of the most rounded, mellow, and redest bunch of cherries she could see. By now she was crawling as her hand extended out to touch the cherry tree—surely she was going to get them before someone could see.

That was until...a voice of authority caused her to release a scream and lose the grip of cherries she wanted to eat.

* * *

He hadn't seen her this morning. He was being cautious about the amount of time they spent in each other's presence although their interactions could not be ignored. Which lead to the reason why he was walking far, far away from the palace to avoid the very face he was thinking about.

Avoiding her was substantial—an oath he forsworn to do to uphold Hisana's pride. And now that he was aware of all her favorable locations, he could avoid her at all costs without any worry of seeing her smile. Had he been a barbarian, he would've chopped her head off the moment he spotted her in the Jade Hall—wearing the face of his late wife that was clearly beyond his own self-control. But he was not a man of such brutality. In fact, even if she did possess the face of another, her personality was far more distinctive from the qualities he had come to know of Hisana.

Admitting her qualities were abnormally refreshing was as far as Byakuya could bring himself to admit. She ate commoner's food— _onigiri_ (and liked 'eggs' as the bulky noble chef had disclosed when he had requested a meal for the Empress yesterday night) and let her Ladies and consorts attend first before anything else. She did not compose herself as a noble in public nor did she control her temper when provocation was evident in her conversations.

Yesterday had said it all.

Her voice retained a certain tone that could either be identified as a baritone of a man or a flute of a woman. The sequence mixed together surely did produce an unusual product, but it suited her quite well as abnormality seemed to be the only thing her figure could contain. It was warrior-like—suitable for the Head Commander of the _onna-buigeishas_ _samurai_ Division and Empress. But it was also very cordial-like—suitable for a conversation between the Elders or children who she seemed to possess great respect for.

It was strange...yes, very strange but to imagine her speaking with any other voice would be too bland and too boring. A trait Byakuya could never bring himself to like.

 **The Imperial Gardens**

The sign read as he walked past it in deep thought with decorated wisteria petals covering the wooden structure engraved with words.

At first he had thought of completing his documents in the Eastern gardens that were now rightfully his in the Kuchiki name. But after his General and Lieutenant seemed to take an extensive liking to the garden, he realized he'd never receive the peace he required to finish the documents in his hands and would most likely end up losing his patience—an attribute from his youth he had taken to adulthood.

The Imperial Gardens were quiet. More quiet than he had expected it to be since it was open to the public. It was also located farther away from the actual palace—near a waterfall that lead to the Withering Lotus River and further on.

As he got closer to the picnic bench and the silver gloom seemed to fade away, he noticed that there were a stack of files—similar to his—resting on the top of the picnic table—untouched and unrevealed.

He got closer to the picnic bench...as the fog was finally dissipating away...a slight wind shook the papers...and humane sounds of struggling and desperation reached his ears. He tilted up his head and what did he see?

The Empress crawling on a branch to reach a cherry tree.

* * *

"You will get down from that tree at once." A voice said, that was all-too-familiar and she gasped.

The authority and coldness emphasized in his tone could not go unheard as his baritone voice met her ears. She had tried her very best to suppress a scream but a gasp escaped her lips long before her brain could even process who's voice had met her ears.

Her violet hues widened as they turned to meet his—the radiance in them shoned brighter than any jewel but his slate grey eyes seemed to do nothing more but fade the hue.

 _Just when I thought I could be alone..._

"Your Majesty..." Their very glance sent a shiver to slither down her spine but her inevitable shudder went unnoticed with the thick fog surrounding her body.

"What are you doing up there?" He questioned with a cold winter tone.

Her eyes sparked in interest to his question before she turned to conceive a reply.

"Huh? I..." She turned to the bundle of cherries her hand was about to reach. "I'm picking cherries, Your Majesty—they're fresh and ready to eat, so I wanted to give them a try." She said before averting her eyes back to his.

She looked back at him to see that he was still wearing a concrete expression on his face—no emotion, no reaction, nothing. Evidently, he didn't appear too impressed at her explanation, but forged a reply anyways. "Retrieve your cherries and get down from that tree. Climbing trees is viewed as the activity of a commoner—you do not want to be seen."

He swiftly turned away and rested his documents opposite to her own—with no desire to take his leave and she stared.

Rukia watched him sit on the picnic bench before she returned to the bundle of cherries and leaves. She outstretched her hand with a muffle of struggles in between.

"Just a bit little closer..." She said to herself as her pale hand outstretched to clamp a few leaves. She pulled the branch closer to her frame before tugging on the cherries and its leaves as the new Emperor sat with his mind concentrated on the ruffles of the leaves.

He could not concentrate.

Not at all with those moving leaves.

And the constant struggles leaving the Empress' mouth made him eager for her to take her leave.

The branches continued to move...and the rustling of the leaves shook like a tornado had hidden itself within the wind that brushed the trees... _'Argh...just a little bit closer_ ' sang like a mantra within the trees...and the irritable presence of the young Empress struggling to grasp onto the tree made his entire aura bothered by her arrival.

Rukia, on the other hand struggled with her own discomfort at the young Emperor's presence as the stem of the cherries were finally able to be grasped by her hands and were tugged away and placed into her basket. She smiled in satisfaction at her victory before her eyes met the lone Emperor who sat on the picnic bench below the very tree she stood on.

His first document was open and his eyes were undoubtedly staring at the first page, but she wasn't so sure the document was the thing his eyes were so focused on. She took a small peek through the petals to see his pale right cheek looking down at the documents.

"If you are done staring now, you may get down from that tree." He said with his eyes and body still turned to his documents and his hands shuffling the papers before placing them down. Her eyes widened with shock before crimson red graced her cheeks—she hadn't realized his attention was still shifted to hers as she got down from the tree.

When she landed on the ground, she jumped off the third highest branch and landed elegantly onto the lush ground near the picnic table. His eyes made no movement to watch her, but she could sense he was already annoyed by the way she decided to leave the tree, but made no comment..

She placed the basket onto the table beside her documents and allowed her hands to slid down the back of her green skirt to sit down on the opposite bench.

They were now facing each other.

Documents aligned.

Berries placed aside.

Eyes instantly frustrated.

He had not expected her to stay and eat the berries that she had just picked shortly from the tree. But as fate would have it, her irritable presence remained in his sight as she peeled open her documents and began to read.

A palace maid appeared shortly and distributed tea with a basket of plum blossoms rested aside for the Empress to see. Quietly, she picked two petals from the basket and put it in each other's tea—something he did not acknowledge.

At first, Rukia had not planned on staying with the cold-hearted man as he would do nothing but offend her and her lack of nobility, but she could not.

Because no. No, he couldn't run away because this needed to work. Rukia understood that many faulty decisions in politics were made when a partnership couldn't agree. She had long given up the hope of him being her true and loving husband, as of now all she wanted was peace...therefore, Kuchiki Byakuya would not run away. He wouldn't leave her like he left her on the night of their wedding in their nuptial chambers.

She took a fresh berry from the bundle and entered it into her mouth. The seed soon came from the core of the cherry and spat out of her mouth with her white handkerchief receiving the seed from her lips. The unedible stem was plucked and set aside before her eyes looked back down at the paper.

"Would you like one?" Rukia offered with her eyes averting to the cherry basket to him.

"No." He said coldly with his eyes focused on—or at least trying to focus on his documents.

"Do you not like cherries? They're not really as sweet as strawberries or peaches, I think you'd really like them." She said after taking note that he wasn't fond of sweet things.

"No thank you." He said again before he dipped a brush in ink to sign off the bottom of the first file.

"Um...Your Majesty, if you are not fond of sweet things and you do not eat cherries, what fruits do you like?" She asked as another cherry entered her mouth. She looked up at him, but his attention was focused somewhere else. Another cherry seed was spat out of her mouth and a stem was discarded to the side.

"Bananas are the most noble fruit available for people to try. They are very nutritious and do not extract sweet juices such as cherries or require one to spit after every mouthful." He said as he placed another paper to the side.

"Oh..." Rukia said before she set down the cherry. "That's lovely, but I kind of expected you to like cherries since you like _sakura_ trees so much."

"The cherry fruit is not produced on _sakura_ trees. It is simply used in the name."

"I know, but I guess I assumed you would like them _because_ they were used in the name."

"I do not favor cherries, they are very unnoble and are prone to causing messes and stains." He said before continuing shortly. "You should try to restrain yourself from eating them near the palace's walls." He reminded and she sighed.

"It's really nothing to worry about...I only eat them out here and it's usually sitting under this very tree."

"I see." He responded and after that, he did not speak again.

* * *

At last he was in peace.

The petite Empress had finally stopped talking about fruits and what not so he could finally return to the piles of documents he was yet to complete for tomorrow. A

Her work ethic had not been what he expected. He had mistaken her for the kind to procrastinate to complete work after her mouth had set off the moment she sat down on the table. However, his instincts had proved him wrong as she had only chatted for a small while and rarely looked up at him as she was too distracted by reading the file.

With the fog isolating them from the imperial palace's walls and the waterfall located not too far away from the wisteria tree they sat under, it was not hard for Byakuya to admit that the scene was quite peaceful—quiet like the Kuchiki Manor.

Had it been bright and sunny, those irritating birds that flew around the sky would make noises from their beak and the berries the Empress carried along would attract their interest to the table and completely disturb Byakuya's peace.

But today was not one of those days.

Byakuya predicted a heavy storm was set to rain upon them, but he was too focused on the _washi_ in front of him to look up into the sky.

He dipped his brush into the ink to write a letter of refusal to the clan before he was interrupted by a small voice that was obscurely quiet and unfamiliarly bland.

* * *

"Your Majesties." Bowed a maid known as Ruyi with a smile—catching the Emperor'sattention and Rukia's eyes who appeared puzzled at the sudden surprise.

"His Majesty has been requested in the Court Rune Hall—the Imperial Court requests your take on the noble clans absences." She informed before the young Emperor closed his files.

"Of course." He said impassively as he stood up from the bench to take his leave.

"Ruyi?" She called as she watched the maid turn her back to leave. "May you call Lady Iri and ask her to meet me in her chambers immediately?" She asked as the _diamyo_ began to walk away from the scene.

" _Hai_ , Your Majesty—I will." She smiled reassuringly. "Is there anything else you might need?" She asked before Rukia shook her head.

"No." Rukia gently smiled before she watched the cold Emperor and the obedient maid take their leave.

And as his broad figure grew further away and the thick fog swallowed their feet, she turned around to view the scattered pages of her files with a frown, to see the cup of his untouched tea.

* * *

 **End Note**

(*In Yachiru's voice*) Oh, that Byakuya is such a meanie! Yes he is indeed—he didn't even drink her tea.

 **Images For This Chapter**

Wisteria Tree

Rukia's Attire—Lavender and green _hanfu_ (Please look at this one! Rukia would love so cute in this)

Leave me some inspiration and **review**! Thank you to my two (technically three counting the kind and generous Gaamatsu96 for her long PM review that left me in tears for her interest—a chapter dedication will be given to you when I write a chapter with more ByaRuki and  Meenathequeen because I feel like you review on every chapter and I love you for that so thank you) reviewers because without you, I would've never updated!

- _NairaRains/kagomesangos_


	7. Life Beyond?

**Pre-Note**

It's been almost three months since I updated, wow! Frankly, I'm not that surprised since during the month of July and August I lacked so much inspiration that I didn't even write anything until September. And ever since September rolled in, I've been piled up with work and work and work—reasons why I haven't even touched any of my drafts saved on my computer—that being said this chapter is one of the shorter ones (only 8,775 words) and it's horrible.

So Happy Reading! P.S: Thank you for the reviews! I'll reply to them soon, I promise!

 **Disclaimer:** Does he even deserve one?

* * *

 **Life Beyond?**

Staring, she swirled the cup of tea in her hands to prompt the searing content to brush up against the sides of the teacup and stain the edges adorned with little Persian blue flowers, aimlessly.

To anybody it would be nothing, but to her she was sure it would drive her completely mad.

"Maybe it was another Lady." Iri assumed with her body braced against Rukia's dresser and a similar teacup adorned with flowers in her hands.

"Another Lady, but whom?"

"Who knows? But if I may, why does it even matter, Your Majesty?" Iri questioned. "It seems quite harmless if you ask me."

"I know it does but...I'm just curious, that's all."

"You shouldn't be so worried, Your Majesty—as long as you weren't poisoned, I think you should accept it and move on."

"Hmph, maybe you're right. But I just can't stop thinking about it...the note the person left for me to read." She said as her gaze remained fixed on the tea.

"It only said 'Eat', correct?"

"Yes, it was as simple and straight-forward as that."

"It sounds like an order."

"That's exactly what I think—but who would leave an 'order' for me to eat?"

"Lord Kurosaki?"

"No, it couldn't be. It wasn't even his handwriting nor would he ever write something that simple and direct."

"That is strange. If it wasn't Lord Kurosaki, than whom? No Lady would ever order you to eat against your own will."

"I know, which is why I've been so curious to figure out whom."

"But isn't Lord Kurosaki still upset with you for your decision? Perhaps, he delivered this with his chagrin in mind or hate."

"But on the day of my wedding he had given me a note—it wasn't an order nor was it anything demanding, more like a confession." Rukia admitted.

"A confession...?" She nodded her head in response.

"If I may...what did he say, Your Majesty?"

"Nothing really, Iri." Rukia said before lowering her eyes back down to her lap. "He just...All he told me was to eat the noodles he made for me and..."

"And?"

"Have a nice wedding." She concluded.

Lady Iri suddenly walked over to her bed. "See, Your Majesty! It must've been him, perhaps he just didn't have anything else left to say to you—case closed."

"I know that but Lady Iri—"

"Youuuu-hooooo." A voice sang behind the doors.

"Lady Rangiku." Iri acknowledged.

"Can I come in?" Rangiku asked. "Momo and I have something important to tell you."

Rukia looked up. "What?"

* * *

Her fingers fidgeted at every touch and her knuckles ran white every time she curled them around a bark to pull herself up but she _was_ going to get her cherries. After all, it _is_ what she came for in the first place. The cherries—yes, _the cherries_ containing cherry juice that could immediately quench her throat's conflict of dehydration.

Her lungs tightened within her chest as her breathing became slow and heavy as she leaped onto another branch—it was like a rush of oxygen being choked down her throat and her chest being inable to contain the air as she leaped onto another one of the branches

"Damn it..." She groaned as the skin on her legs scrapped against a pointy prick of wood in the process of climbing up upon another branch. She felt her flesh cut open in a thin and burning line near her knee as she sat her body down onto the branch and brought her right leg up to run her fingertips along the top of the cut.

"Sssss..." She hissed before she quickly retracted her hand as her fingertips only made the small cut burn even _more_ —like a cup of acid aggravating the flesh. The area around the cut remained red but thankfully, no blood seeped out of the small but hurting cut—telling her it was alright to move on.

From morning to afternoon, rain had left the trees wet and moist—allowing an earthy scent to attach itself upon her clothes and the dampness of the trees to settle in between the wrinkled skin of the space in between each toe.

Dirt found a way to smear against her moist skin though Rukia—being determined—continued on as she reached out to another branch to pull herself up and escalate to a new level.

 _Almost there..._

When she reached the final branch, she took a pause to wipe the sticky beads of sweat that framed her forehead with the back of her hand before positioning herself to crawl to the highest—and thinnest—point of the branch.

Her knees dug into the soil and filth of the tree as both of her hands—pressed face down against the wood—smeared with darkness of soil and water.

But even with the earthy smell surrounding her body and her clothes, it didn't lessen her mood one bit as her violet eyes met a mellow bundle of cherries that were dripping with beads of rain water under the leaves of the tree.

She extended her hand and groaned as she struggled to reach the cherries in her current crouched position with her left hand pressed down against the wood and her right hand stretching to reach the bundle..

Her knees shook rapidly as she tried to stand on the thin branch before sprawling out her two arms to form a 'T' again as the branch began to move downwards in response to her weight.

"W-Woah—w-wait." She whispered nervously with her eyes perked wide open in fear and her entire body trembling like an earthquake as the branch moved up and down—shaking rain water from the wisteria petals onto her damp head.

Her pulse quickened as the branch continued to move with her arms trying to regain balance in her stance. More rain water plummeted down as the branch moved up and down before the wind shook the leaves attached to the branch.

One leg moved in front of the other as her body leaned to the side and she tried to pull herself back—she could already _feel_ the wind against her cheek as her lungs squeezed tightly within her chest as her legs quivered at the tilt and the wind breathing its air on her damp skin.

"W-Woah—o-ohh—w-woah." She spluttered as her body leaned further and further away to the right as her arms started to flutter up and down like wings.

Her left foot suddenly slipped against the moisture of the wood causing her body to completely lose control, her feet to slip upwards, and her body to fall sideways to the right.

 _Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!_

A strong rush of wind pushed against her body as her heart fell inside her chest.

Her eyes widened in fear before she quickly used her arms to grab onto the nearest branch leaving her body to lean against the structure to prevent her from falling.

Her muscles burned hotly and her sweat was finally starting to mix in with the dampness of her skin as she panted heavily and her arms grasped onto the stick tightly in fear of falling all over again.

Another fresh wind of air suddenly whisked its way through the petals and leaves—riving Rukia's hot body momentarily as it kissed her skin and refreshed it as the branches (including hers) began to slowly shake at the force in response.

It moved up and down over and over again as the wind grew strong and Rukia grasped onto the wood for dear life.

 _Oh no_...The branch she held onto suddenly began to make breaking sounds as the wood began to chip away its contact from the trunk of the tree. The crunching of the breaking wood began to grow loud as pieces of wood were chipped away and the branch began to lower down—further and further away until she was now dangling further away from the tree.

The crackles grew louder...chips of wood began to descend away...the branch lowered even further...and the dampness of her fingertips were causing her to slip away...and just when the tree made it's final crack, her hands slipped away and she screamed.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Her hands slipped and a rush of air suddenly blew against her back. Her violet eyes widened like saucers as her raven hair flew upwards with her clothes as well. An extreme force of air pushed her body upwards with her legs and skin being covered with thousands of goosebumps as her arms moved around randomly as she scrambled.

Her lungs were sucked out of all oxygen her body could bear as her heart fell out of her chest to leave it empty as her breath shook and quivered and trembled as she prepared her body to hit the ground. She could already imagine the pressure on her body as it slammed against the muggy grass—releasing blood from her mouth and a few crackles of her bones with the force.

The wind grew stronger...her chest was empty and she couldn't breath...her hair tangled with the wind...and her heart thumped quickly...goosebumps layered her skin...and she choked on her own shaky breath...the pressure increased triggering her closeness to the ground...and she squeezed her eyes shut to brace herself for the impact before—

"OOFFFF!"

She fell.

Her head slammed and rang like a series of bells in her head as she groaned before she rose her right hand to cover her head to wince.

Her eyes squeezed even tighter, her eyebrows crumpled, and her forehead wrinkled with a bunch of lines as her head burned with sweat and dampness mixed in between the pain and dizziness pounding in her head.

"Dammit..." She cursed as her damp hand covering part of her eyes gently slid down her damp face and rested along the side of her petite body.

She swallowed as she panted to regain her breath as she moved against the ground to figure out where the pain was located but strangely, she found none. The more she moved in confusion, the more the ground of grass felt more like skin—or _arms_ —cradling her body as she moved again.

She crumpled her eyebrows in perplexity as she weakly lifted her hand up to the right to touch the grass but she was blocked. _Blocked._

 _A wall...?_

She assumed in her head.

 _No, it's hard and strong...maybe the tree?_

She knocked her knuckles against the 'wall' or 'tree' to feel cloth— _cloth_ , no wall or tree wore cloth. Especially cloth that felt as expensive as this— _silk_ and handmade—or so she presumed.

Rukia rose her hand a bit higher from the 'wall/tree' clothed with silk to feel _skin_ —soft and supple skin that allowed her hand to slightly trace the delicacy she felt beneath her fingertips in peace.

 _I was caught..._

She tried to open her eyes, but the immense pain in her forehead told her it was too soon to release them to the light. Mentally cursing herself, she grimaced at the crack of light she received when she attempted to open her eyes—giving her more time to figure out the person who had caught her from her fall.

Speaking of the person who caught her from her fall, the person holding onto her body right now was _drenched_ in the sweet fragrance of _sakura_ —but in a good way, a very pleasant way as she sniffed the scent the person's body offered.

She moaned at the pleasant scent she sniffed with her nose—allowing a smile to blossom on her face in content before a startingly, deep, and serious voice reached her ears.

"What. Are. You. Doing?"

Her eyes jolted open and she gasped.

Her hand flew away and her body jolted awake in his grasp as large hands touched the small of her back and held her thighs up—bridal style.

 _You._

"Yo—Your Majesty..." She acknowledged wide-eyed as crimson hued her pale cheeks when their eyes met slowly.

 _You caught me..._

She breathed.

"I asked you a question—what are you doing?"

The heat rose at their proximity. His grey eyes glared into her violet—cold, blank, unreadable with his tone harsh, rude, demanding with his touch feeling rather the opposite.

She blinked up at him at the loss of words of what to say. His face looked so stiff—impassive and non-caring and yet he awaited an answer, an answer she did not know how to give.

So she stared—still panting with redness still tainting her cheeks and eyes that were left to wander in the silence.

And in that moment, her eyes became _wanderlust_.

"Um..."

Rukia's eyes left his to wander and trace his features in the silence she gave—from his manly cheekbones to his sharp and chiseled jaw, from the moon-like pale skin of his face to the thin lips he had pressed into a thin bond. Everything was sculptured so perfectly from the round shape of his eyes to his hair that drizzled in thick ink strands along the front of his face.

"I..."

She knew he was handsome. She would never deny it even though he _was_ an arrogant _Diamy_ o neither would she give him the benefit of the doubt by _knowing_ the fact that she thought that way too. However, she never got to see it so closely—and now as she was stuck in such an awkward position, she couldn't help but look.

It made her realize something she had never realized before—his eyes weren't really gray at all but shades of grey. _Shades._ Darker in the middle and circumference with silver before being ringed again with another shade.

They were shades of grey. Yes...beautiful shades of grey—silver, charcoal, cloud, smoke—all mixed into one: framed with long thick lashes that only intensified the beauty she had never seen.

And Rukia never thought that grey could be so beautiful. It was too bland...too grieving...it only reminded her of rain. But something within his eyes told her that it was beautiful—maybe because it was a muster of grey, not just one. A magnificent myriad of an emotionless colour known as grey.

Her eyes couldn't pull themselves away. Instead they stared so lost and aimlessly into his eyes—so much that she had forgotten their position until, the magnificent pools of silver, charcoal, cloud, and smoke she had been staring into in the silence, turned away.

She snapped herself back to reality before he carried her body with his face now looking straight ahead to avoid her gaze. But she never stopped staring—watching the shadows that casted itself below his jaw and contoured his face.

It was only when he began to lower her body down to the ground that she clasped onto his clothes for dear life and looked away to find out where exactly he was putting her down.

"Where are you—"

It was the bench—the picnic bench. Located under the tree.

Her bottom plopped down against the wood and she groaned as her bottom slammed against the harsh wood.

"Ouch!" She grimaced as her leg with the scratch hit itself against the seat as she closed her eyes to let the pain settle in and touch the scratch on her right leg.

It still pained, but the burning was slowly subsiding and she was glad. If she had actually fell on the ground she was sure the scratch would've split even further but she was caught, in a pair of ghost-white arms.

 _His Majesty..._

 _I forgot to say thank you!_

"Um—Your Majesty?" She started off in uncertainty because she really didn't know what to say. "I, well..." J _ust say thank you!_ "….wanted to say thank you for saving me..." Her head rose up in the process with her right leg perked on top of her left thigh. "...but you really didn't have to—"

And she saw nothing. Nothing at all.

 _Where did he go?_

Because he was _gone_.

Not a single trace.

Not a single footstep.

He was just gone.

Rukia blinked in confusion as she looked around the area to see that she was alone.

He had left.

"Hmph..." She scoffed. "All I wanted to say was thank you." She muttered as her eyes averted back to the scratch on her right leg.

She decided that visiting the Medical Quarters would be best to make it heal. An ointment of some sort to lessen the pain by Orihime would serve its purpose if she continued to climb trees in such horrid conditions like these.

She returned her right leg to the ground and turned in her seat to see her tea set and her drawing book ready for her to use and draw.

Pulling out the paints associated with the book, she began to draw in silence—allowing minutes to pass by as creative inspiration left her page blank with the exception of a few sketchy lines—prompting her dissatisfaction.

Closing the book, she slid it away from her body, and drank some of her tea in frustration.

" _Eat._ "

She flinched and looked up at the sound of the harsh voice. A sandy brown basket was put in front of her sight with ripe red cherries filled to the top, causing her eyes to widen in surprise before looking up at the person who delivered it.

"Y-Your Majesty..."

"Eat." He ordered again before he sat down directly across from her position and she stared as she picked a cherry.

"You're sitting?" She asked in confusion as he organized his documents in front of her and peeled open one in his seat.

He didn't reply—just sat and shuffled his documents as if she wasn't there but Rukia was determined for an answer. Taking a napkin, she spat a seed into the cloth before reaching out her hand to pour some tea.

One for her and one for hi—

"I do not want any of your tea." He said as she poured the hot, syrup-brown content into a teacup.

"Why not?" She questioned as she assembled his tea.

"It is not needed. I am not thirsty."

"Oh..." She said as her eyes flickered from him to the tea. "Well I've already made it so you might as well drink it." Rukia said before she slid the cup across the table..

"No, thank you."

"Are you sure?" She asked. "You can just keep it near you just in case you are thir—"

"I do not want your tea." He repeated again and something in his voice indicated that he was very annoyed by her persistent nature. So naturally, she stopped pursuing.

Sighing, she pulled the teacup back with lowered eyes and opened up her book once again to draw—not looking up to spare him a single glance as her presence was already unfavorable enough.

Uncovering the paints and grabbing her brush, the concentration wrinkled in her brows as a few petals from the wisteria tree descended down on the page.

Thinking of nothing, she stared at the blank page—resting her right elbow onto the table with her hand cupping her cheek as she wiggled the brush against the paper.

Surprisingly, the art inspiration she had put to rest before, immediately revived itself in the form of squiggly lines—looking more like a whirlpool of snakes—but she was dedicated.

And with all the peace and concentration that was settled in the air, she certainly did not expect such a work-paced, silent aura to be ruined at all.

Until he spoke.

"You draw." He observed and her head snapped up to look at him as he discarded another paper to the side.

"Um...yes, I do." Rukia answered. "Do you?"

"No."

"Oh..." Rukia lowered her tone. "Why don't...Why did you even as..."

"It was an observation."

"Oh...Forgive me, Your Majesty."

"Pardon your worries, I do not care."

"Right..." She muttered under her breath before returning her eyes to the paper in front of her with squiggly lines—or snakes, she would call them. It sounded more artistic than depicting it as a whirlpool of lines.

Strangely enough, she still didn't _have_ anymore inspiration to draw her comical bunnies—unfortunately it only reminded her of Ichigo—that idiotic strawberry and his ridiculous comments insulting her art style. Reasons why she was so remote to drawing them ever since she got married.

When the thought of Ichigo plagued her mind, it only made her wonder where he was now and what he was doing. But she couldn't see him—she knew that. No matter how many times the selfish part of her conscience encouraged her to seek his affection and attention, she had to teach herself to let him go. Being in his presence alone would be enough to put a match to a wildfire and even then, she would succumb to every little request and the rational part of her conscience would cease to exist instantaneously—something she did not want to do.

Even if she was plagued, with the memories of the rain.

"It will rain soon." He announced.

"Huh?" Her head snapped up again and she looked up to see the stormy grey clouds rolling in. "It seems so..." Rukia said before looking down again to meet the basket of cherries.

"But wait, I'm not done! I can't leave without finishing them." Rukia said before eagerly popping two cherries into her mouth and savoring the flavor.

"You will not be able to finish them in time." He said as the sound of thunder rumbling clashed in the air.

She swallowed thickly before spitting two seeds out. "I can do it—really!" She said before popping not one, not two, but _three_ cherries into her mouth and Byakuya did not know whether he should've been impressed by her persistence or disgusted by her commoner behavior.

"You (she swallowed)...don't have to stay you know."

He looked up to stare—spotting the lone cherry seed at the corner of her mouth (something she failed to notice as she put another cherry in).

Picking up a napkin, he wordlessly handed her the cloth to wipe her face—an action remained unnoticed as she packed up her things.

From paint to brushes, she made sure to pack them neatly before hurriedly sipping her tea to notice the extended hand in front her face with a napkin.

"What?" She voiced—words that mixed with the rumbling of the rain.

"You have a cherry seed stuck on your face. Remove it at once." He ordered before her fingertips pryed the napkin out of his pale hand once again.

"Thank you." She said softly as she caught his eyes consisting of _shades_ of grey. She nodded her head slightly as he stared down at her with an intense gaze—an unreadable one, one she could reciprocate as he studied her carefully prompting a very small smile to appear on her face—showcasing her appreciation.

And in between the raindrops and his cutting eyes, Rukia felt her cheeks warm with red as goosebumps layered themselves on top of her skin in additional to the chilling presence in the air. She could feel the hairs at the back of her neck stick in one motion as the raindrops descended upon her hair.

She started to get uncomfortable.

So comfortable that her breathing got a bit shaky and she began to sway—awkwardly trapped in their one on one gaze.

"Your Ma..." She spoke and he turned away—prompting her eyes to perk in surprise as he turned away.

The skies grumbled loudly—the grey clouds transitioned into the darkest of shades as the wind brushed through the leaves and the air; emitting a certain shiver to quiver her damp, earth-smelling skin.

"Let's go." He said with his back facing hers and his body beginning to move at its own pace.

"Right!" She assured with irises perking with realization as she fiddled with some of the teacups—putting them to their original place and pressed her drawing book to her chest and paint into the bag.

The rain began to fall, _hard_.

Droplets fell and descended from the heavy clouds—slashing in heavy weights before refracting itself in several diffusing directions as it rained. Each drop fell harder in a muster of millions—soaking her completely as she left the tree to follow the Emperor with fresh beads of water upon her hair.

* * *

The rain hadn't ceased like she had expected it to do after its morning to afternoon fall. Through the parted **shoji** she could see the rain plummet deep into her pond—nothing had changed in the past two hours she had sat here in her chambers with the Emperor gone from her environment completely.

When they both had entered the palace, the maids had practically created havoc at their condition—immediately preparing a warm bath to have them washed off. Not to mention, ask a humiliating question that only seemed to flush her heated cheeks even _more._

 _"Your Majesties_ — _shall I prepare a bath for you both?"_

 _"Yes, that would be lovely."_ She had replied.

 _Hai, now will you..._

 _What is it?_

The maid had stared at her in confusion before clarifying herself as if the subject she had been the most naturalist thing.

 _Be bathing together, Your Majesty? In the same tub?_

 _What...? Well, um..._

 _No._

That last response had been him—tone completely deprived of emotion and thought before he ordered the maid to prepare the bath immediately as they had been utterly wet from the rain.

From top to bottom, they had been so wet that their clothes had absorbed enough water to make them _squish_ with every movement they had made. She could tell by his demeanor that he wasn't too pleased with being wet—let alone, indulging in any conversation regarding it as well.

When they had entered the palace, the gapes alone had prompted his discontent—Rukia could tell, his aura appeared more chilling than usual; making anyone become too fearful to make an attempt.

The cold and relentless Emperor had walked them right through the curious eyes—figure tall and broad as he lead them to their—her—chambers and shut the door.

 _You will bathe first._

 _Arigatou, Your Majesty_ — _however, are you sure you don't want to go in first?_

He had turned.

 _I mean I can wait, Your Majesty_ — _you look rather uncomfortable in your clothes._

 _That will not be necessary_ — _I do not need your concern._

 _Are you sure? I am okay with wa_ —

 _This is not up for discussion. You will bathe first._

 _Bu_ —

 _I do not like repeating myself, you will bathe first._

 _Your Majesty?_ A maid had called out for her.

 _Leave. I will not stay._

 _Where are you going?_ She had questioned immediately.

 _I will be back._ He had assured, almost if it was suppose to be comforting.

 _Wait_ —

Y _our Majesty? The bath is ready._

 _Go._

 _Wait_ —

 _I will be back._ He had said for what seemed to be the last time he would allow himself to repeat his words again. Sheepishly, she had given in and walked towards the bathroom with the maid—leaving him to walk out of the chambers, alone.

After a hot bath, she had been left in her robe and returned to her drawing book as the stormy clouds had casted a night spell on the entire land—after hours of consecutive working, it had been hard to tell whether it was still afternoon or evening as thunderous claps clashed in the torrid sky.

Now as the darkness of the night and the doldrums of the rain merged together into one, she sat in the middle of the partedshōji and stared out to view her pond, in search alone for the evening sun.

* * *

He walked down the familiar hall to the ending chambers with his _samurai_ attire replacing his usual clothing. He was no longer draped with the nuisance of wet clothes but his _samurai_ attire now clothed his entire body.

If he was man prone to showing emotion, he would have grimaced at the thought of how soaked his clothes had been before. His walk through the gardens had proven itself to be quite disastrous the moment he had spotted the Empress dangling from the tree.

His first thought had been to leave her there and let her learn the hard way for being so childish and non-discrete. But when her hand had slipped from the bark she was holding, the first instinct of his body had been to catch her before she had fell.

That he had done before he had sat on the table and the rain began to pour itself leisurely before turning into a storm—to express his displeasure in that very moment had not been something he was keen to showing but strangely enough, the Empress had caught onto his discontent quickly and had remained silent throughout the walk back into the palace.

Finding the idea rather uncomfortable, he had left to create a bit of distance between them—now returning to fulfill his word about coming back.

When he arrived at the doors, the usual guards were at rest and moved away—the silent and peaceful aura the palace carried throughout the night was highly suitable to Byakuya's liking. In fact, he had hoped to enjoy it a little while longer if it weren't for his pledge to return to the Empress' chambers earlier on.

Pushing the door open, he entered her chambers—hoping she had fallen asleep so he could leave and go for a walk. But surprisingly, she was still awake—small frame sitting in between the open space of the shōji and eyes focused towards the gloomy night.

It did not go unnoticed how engrossed she looked as she stared straight forward to meet the pond. She looked so deep in thought that in a mere moment of sheer curiosity, Byakuya wondered what she was thinking about.

Her thighs crushed against her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs to keep them in place. And if there was any emotion Byakuya could identify within the instant of seconds in someone's eyes, it was pain.

Pain of loss.

The expression, itself was remote to him but the feeling, itself was not.

He had lost countless of times to death at the expense of others. The feeling was naturally inflicted, but to see it yet again in another's eyes was not something he was exposed too often.

He had grown up in a prestigious home—emotions were rarely used or even _discussed_ among the noblemen. He had only ever discovered the sight of pain _once_ and that had been with Hisana.

After that, the sight of pain had been so rare that he had almost forgotten what the perception even looked like. That is, of course until he saw the Empress.

Her eyes and mind were too focused to notice, but he had stood there for two minutes just to take in the perception—the sight of pain in one's eyes. He could tell by her oblivion, that until he made any indication of his presence, the Empress would continue to indulge in her own world. And although he was fond of the peace and quiet, the sight of pain was not something he wanted to see.

Not when she had...the face of Hisana.

He cleared his throat to bring her away from her thoughts (and his own)—doing it twice before the sound captured her attention and she turned his way to look.

* * *

"Your Majesty!" She gasped and sprang up at the sight of his face.

"I have returned." He stated blandly.

"You have..."

"Have you finished your documents?"

"Documents...? Oh, _hai_ —I sent them with Lady Iri to give to Chancellor Rei."

"I see."

"Hmm..." Her eyes wandered away from his momentarily as the awkward air grew thick.

"Will that be all?"

"Wha—no, wait."

"What is it?"

"I don't think you should leave." She said hurriedly and if it wasn't for his frequent and impassive motions, he would've arched a brow. Luckily, Rukia was quick to notice how _strange_ her request sounded and decided to rephrase it to settle his surprise. "I meant, talk—Your Majesty."

"What is it that you need to discuss?"

"Nothing really, I just thought it would be best that we talked."

"Talked...?" He repeated as he stared down at her.

" _Hai_ , we can talk about anything."

"I do not see the purpose." He said.

"There isn't one." She admitted. "But, if it isn't too much trouble, Your Majesty—I would like to."

He grunted at that as a sign of approval and she nodded her head in response to his agreement. "So..." She started off.

"What do you want to talk—"

"What were you thinking about?" He inquired slowly—eyes so intensifying, she gulped. His intonation was deep and for a brief moment she could've sworn she heard some type of concern (or interest) in his tone. It was a rarity, of course but hearing it felt uplifting—it almost indicated to her that he did not despise her as much as she thought he did. But his question...

"What?" She voiced, almost as if she didn't hear him.

He did not like repeating himself and yet it was inevitable when he was with her. "What were you thinking about just now?"

She opened her mouth to speak but ended up closing it as her eyes left his to look back out at the pond. He must've been here longer than she had first assumed, she concluded as she took in a breath of air.

She was deep in thought—about many things.

Kaien...Ichigo... _Him_.

With Kaien, she had thought about what he would've done if he was stuck in a similar situation. With Ichigo, she had thought of him completely—his punishment, the wedding, _them_ in general. And with him, she had thought about how things would work out between them, who (her) would have to take the first step in their liaison, his reason for despising her, and most importantly, why did he catch her when she fell?

Strangely enough after that, all she could think about was him.

But she couldn't admit that her deep, _private_ thoughts were about him—those thoughts had her thinking so seriously that she hadn't even noticed him walk in.

"I..."

"You do not need to answer if you are uncomfortable."

"Wha—no, Your Majesty. I was thinking about..." _You, Ichigo..._ "Kaien."

"I see." He replied. "He was your husband."

" _Hai_." She responded. "For ten years..."

"You were fourteen."

She nodded her head to confirm. " _Hai_ , strangely enough it doesn't feel like it's been that long."

"When you are with the one you love, time is abiding to all."

"Kaien was different." She started. "From the very start, I knew I'd somehow end up falling in love with him if not entirely but partly."

"You did not love him?"

"Not at first." She explained. "It had just been admiration then—he was my superior who trained me in the arts of swordsmanship to lead the _onna-buigeishas_." She continued as she stared out into the pond. "The Auris Clan had wanted me to marry early and when they realized my fondness for the Head of the Shiba Clan, they sought out a way the Shiba clan could be beneficial to ours."

"And then you were married."

" _Hai_ , we were married. At the time it had happened, I still only felt admiration for him even though it was slowly transitioning into love. At my naïve age, I didn't know what I was feeling or what I was thinking but in the first two months of our marriage, I understood." She stopped and reminisced. "I had fallen in love."

He fell silent and she had fallen silent too. Moments slowly passed away as the rain slowed down and she took in another breath of air before she talked again. "This pond of mine...it represents him—Kaien—in a way. He always wanted to become the water after death and the water is what I assumed he became. That's why every day...at least once I send a note in a tray—with flower petals of all kinds to float atop the pond for him to read."

"You think he reads them?"

"Of course." She said assuringly. "Isn't there life after death?"

"No." He responded. "There is not."

"Well I guess it all depends on what we believe in."

"You have been fooled. There is no life beyond death. Once you are dead, you are dead."

"That's where you're wrong—there has to be, what do you think happens to a soul once the person is dead?"

"It is dead." He responded. "When a person dies, all life and matters of its existence disappears."

"That can't be true, Your Majesty." She protested. "There must be some type of life after death or else...or else I'd..."

"You would...?"

"Feel deceived."

"What is there to feel deceived about?"

"Because we would have no purpose. We'd just be people born into this world to live through hardship, social hierarchy, and conflict. We'd come to this world to build something so strongly only to be destroyed and lost."

"That is life."

"It is not." She denied. "I might as well be dead if there is no life beyond."

"You should not speak of such foolishness."

"Why shouldn't I?" She remarked. "Although I'll never see this world again, I would like to know that I can rest in peace in some other place."

"I fail to see how that is different from dying and remaining dead."

"It is different because I would be put to peace. Everything I suffered in this world would be cleansed in the next and only then would I be exposed to complete purity."

And if he was prone to scoffing, he would've scoffed. "You are living in a dream."

"A dream safer than reality." She whispered softly.

 _The past five years with you has been a wonderful and beautiful dream, Byakuya._

He was quick to reprimand."It will destroy you."

She turned her head to meet his eyes in curiosity of his words. "Do not allow your dreams to control you, it will destroy you long before life can as there is no life after death."

"You are wrong." She persisted. "Whether you agree with me or not, I know there's something out there." She said before she continued. ''And besides, what proof do you have there is not?"

"If there was life beyond death I would not be here right now." He simply replied.

"What?"

* * *

"Fuck." Ichigo cursed as his body slammed against his bed—weariness drained his entire body as his armor clashed with his muscles and he groaned.

Today had been too long—from training to working, he had exhausted his body to the limit and now all he wanted to do was sleep all his troubles away. If only it couldn't so easily said than done—Renji, Inoue, Ishida, and Chad had made plans tonight—plans including _him._ And if it wasn't for the fact that he had been a crappy friend to all of them for a couple of days after the wedding, he would've never gone in this state of exhaustion.

Inoue had suggested he wear something casual since they were only going to the Rukongai Districts to visit their friend, Tatsuki. But in his state of weariness, he was perfectly fine just going in his armor after his tiring day at the Court Pune Hall.

His penalty for missing Rukia's wedding had him wondering if she had somehow interfered.

His penalty had been nothing more than a reduction in rations and an increase in taxes. The complete opposite of what he was expecting—especially from the Emperor. Nonetheless, instead of thinking about it he should've been grateful for their or his supposed gratitude. But no matter how much he tried, he couldn't shake off the feeling or concern.

Was Rukia somehow involved with this?

He could only question in his oblivious state whether she'd get herself involved or not for something as stupid as this—a penalty for not attending a marriage. He liked to think so—knowing damn well that the Emperor Kuchiki Byakuya was nothing more than what he showed.

Arrogance and brutality. Evidently, he was right about the fact that Rukia had so longed disapproved of until now.

She wasn't happy—he knew she wasn't and yet where was she now?

He still didn't know where she stood with her answer. After all, she had never answered him that night when he had asked her.

 _What if I turn out to be right and he has a mistress? What will you do with me, Rukia? Will you live like a useless wife and Empress or will you have the nerve to have an affair with me?_

She never answered... _properly_.

And maybe, he didn't want her to in fear of hearing the answer.

But even so, he wanted to see her—it's been days and yet, he hadn't seen her face not even _once_ near the thirteen Divisions _or_ the Court Pune Hall. It was almost like she had disappeared—but then again, what if it wasn't even her choice?

Usually, he'd be used to it. Seeing Rukia was always a rarity—she was always busy, handling two tasks at the same time. But now with the new Emperor, would she even have a single chance?

Turning to his side, he wondered if he'd ever see her again. The palace was huge, it was easy to misplace each other and in this case, misplacement seemed almost inevitable.

After all, didn't she want him to quote and quote, _let her go_?

"Kurosaki- _kun_..." A voice sung from behind the light brown shōji.

"Ichigo, c'mon – get outta there!" Renji called.

"We're going to be late if you don't hurry up, Kurosaki." Uryu said.

"Yeah, yeah I know—hold up, I'm coming." Ichigo said before standing up from his bed and taking a quick look outside.

It was raining, and funny enough it only reminded him of the one and only thing that began his relationship with Rukia from the very start; _the memories of the rain_ , he thought.

* * *

"It is late, you should be asleep." He said before turning around.

"Wait—Your Majesty—" Rukia said while standing up (and almost clumsily falling with the lengthy cloth of her white _haori_ on top of her robe). "What do you mean?"

"I do not understand." He replied with his back turned towards her.

"You didn't explain..."

"What is it that needs explaining?"

 _Really?_ Rukia thought in her mind. "You said...If there was life beyond death you would not be here right now. So I'm asking, what do you mean?"

"It is of no concern to you."

 _Here we go again..._ Rukia's eyebrows immediately crumpled at the response.

"I apologize, Your Majesty but you _are_ the one who brought it up. Don't you think you should do the 'honorable' thing and explain it?"

"I don't recall bringing up your ex-husband or even mentioning life beyond this world."

"You were the one who asked me ab—"

"I simply asked a question, you did not have to answer it."

"What was I suppose to do?! Not answer and have you scold me?"

"You had a choice. I did not leave any room for a discussion."

"You were the one who continued to state facts about my marriage and my husband!"

"Correct, but I did not ask you to reply. I was simply stating facts, I was not looking for a reprimand."

"Then what were you expecting?" Rukia asked in disbelief while his grey eyes hardened at her tone.

"Silence." He responded coldly.

"Silence..." She pondered on the word."Right—of course," It was pathetic. "What else was I suppose to expect?"

He turned 1/2 way as she looked down. "It doesn't matter to you that I'm trying, does it?"

He stared at her from the corner of his left eye. "You don't care about this."

Her voice sounded so drained.

"It's unfortunate, really." She grimaced as her eyes remained lowered to the ground. "I'm suppose to be your wife and yet you don't acknowledge me as one nor consider me to be a human being."

"That is because you are not my wife." He spoke with a deep intonation that caused Rukia's eyes to immediately flicker up and gaze. "Do not even refer to yourself as one."

She started off slow. "I know you don't want to accept me as anybody remarkably close to you but the reality is I'm your wife and you're my husband and there's nothing more we can do about it but accept."

"Wrong." He said. "We are only husband and wife by law, now that we are married, the Elders' only concern is an heir."

"An heir we'll give them! But what about us? How do you expect to produce an heir when you can't even look at me in the eye without staring at me like I'm some sort of wall or statue?"

"Considering the fact that you were married once before, you should be well aware that intimacy does not require love."

"And?" Rukia questioned. "I'm not some call-girl from the Red Light Districts or some concubine or Consort chosen to succumb to your sexual will. I am an Empress— _your_ wife—and whether we love each other or not, I at the very least want some emotional friendship or connection between us before the time comes."

"Then we will never produce an heir."

"What?"

"You are not my wife nor do I wish to form any sort of liaison with you that is not political. When the time comes to produce an heir, you will be ready as intimacy does not require love."

"I am! Why won't you just accept it?! I am your wife! It is not a choice to form anything romantic or friendly—it's _mandatory_ to rule and produce an heir!"

"I do not like repeating myself, you are not my wife."

"I refuse to become intimate with you until we harbor some type of emotional feelings!"

She didn't have any carnal desires—why would she? He was nothing more but the Emperor—an iceberg, a statue, arrogant and principled. But the fact was, she wanted some authenticity when the time came. Was that so hard to ask? To have some type of genuinity within their relationship to raise their son or daughter?

"Is that so?"

" _Hai_."

"Then perhaps you will need to adopt an heir, after all." He said before turning around fully and heading towards the door. "I will take my leave."

Rukia was quick to reprimand. "You can't!"

"I no longer wish to talk."

"We're not done with this! You need to accep—"

" _We are done_." He cut her off.

"I am your wife!" Rukia persisted as she tailed behind him to the door. "And because of that relation we have to have some sort of relationship!"

"I already told you, I do not wish to have a liaison with you."

"Then what about our future son—huh? Our daughter? Me?" She asked. "I will not have any child of mine have to bear the idea of her mother and father not getting along."

"My decision is final."

She muttered. "My decision matters too."

"To the outside world, perhaps but to me, I do not care for either you _or_ your tea." He said and Rukia blinked.

 _Tea?_

Her eyes traced the desk not too far away from his body to see the tea set with two cups ready and set for his arrival. And then she remembered, _she_ had been the one that set it up for them to use for his return.

She looked back.

"I figured—every time you deny it it's like you're denying me as a whole, not the tea." Rukia replied. "But that doesn't matter because you can't change the fact that this is reality! You can't change the fact that we're Emperor and Empress, and you can't change the fact that under the eyes of God, we are married!"

"I do not believe in God."

"Well I do. And under the eyes of Him, we are married—you can't change that."

"It does not matter whether we can change it or not. By law, we are married but I still do not accept you as my wife."

"Fine, don't! But you have to accept me as something."

"I do not wish to accept you as anything. Goodnight." He said—visibly getting tired of the conversation.

"No, wait—you can't just leave! We have to figure this out!"

"Goodnight." He repeated once again before he reached out to the handle to open the door.

"Good—wait—" Her hand reached out to catch a hold of his robe from the back and cage it within her tiny palms. "You can't just walk out on me like that, we have to discuss this!"

He took one step forward—"The longer we prolong this the more we're going to have to wa—Byakuya!" She yelled in frustration and everything in time took a slow and abrupt pause.

Rukia stared in confusion and uncertainty as the Emperor kept his back straight and body frozen in place—signalling some kind of discontentment with her move. Slowly, she refracted her hand from the back of his clothes she had caged until the recap of her very own words sunk into her brain.

 _Byakuya._

She had called him by his first name.

Stepping back, she watched how still his body remained as regret slowly built itself up in her eyes.

"I..."

In response he said nothing.

Her words faltered and she didn't know what to say. At least that was until...

* * *

"We will discuss this tomorrow." He announced, hoping to bring this discussion to an end.

"Really?" She asked behind him, sounding too hopeful for his taste.

" _No_." He answered coldly before hearing her hopeful voice fade.

"What?"

"I've already told you, I do not wish to form any liaison with you that is not political."

"But then..."

"Nonetheless..." He did not like the fact that he had to do this at all. "There are a few things I'd like to discuss with you regarding our marriage."

"Oh, I see." The Empress said."Bu—"

"That is all."

"Your Majesty—"

"That will be all." He repeated again with a hint of annoyance—watching from the corner of his left eye, the petite woman's shoulders fall.

She had been defeated—allowing him to finally reach the doorknob in two quick easy motions to leave.

"Goodnight, Your Majesty." He heard her say behind him after a short pause—her voice was quieter than before; evidently she was tired of talking at all.

He stopped at the doorknob, contemplating what he would say next before slightly turning around to see the petite woman still bowing her head for him to leave.

Her hands met each other at the front of her body and the top of her hair was the only thing he could see. He did not know whether she was crying or if her eyes were solely closed shut. Either way, he found no motivation to find out.

"Goodnight..." He responded nonchalantly as he watched her position one last time from the door.

"...Rukia."

* * *

 **End Note**

See what I meant? Short. I know these type of developments can be a restriction to our favorite couples because you have to wait until they reunite or develop feelings. But, I'm not about to pull a Kubo on anybody with undeveloped relationships so the story must go on! Bear with me please—both IchiRuki and ByaRuki shippers, something will happen very soon! And yes, the _memories of the rain_ is the story of how and when Ichigo and Rukia first fell in love thus beginning their relationship—which is why it's referenced here two times (in the story).

Since I've been so busy (It was my birthday on the 10th), I honestly don't know when you all will get another update. Fingers-crossed, inspiration sparks me soon enough and work gives me a break to write.

Nonetheless, I've still found a way to put another story into works that is solely based on IchiRuki for the IchiRuki fans here who can't wait for them to be together. It isn't posted (yet) but it is a business AU (named _Enrapture_ ) with lots of your favorite M-rated themes (*cough, cough* lemons) and oh, did I forget to mention, wine? So if you're interested, there is no reason to fret—it will be posted as soon as possible.

I also have another solely-based ByaRuki story in mind too—but it's just an idea, nothing written yet just thought about. So if I figure out something, I'll let you know.

Leave me **reviews** my loves! I read every single one!

— _NairaRains_


	8. The Jade Anklet

**Pre-Note**

It's been awhile! I'm sorry for the absence. But before you go on reading I should let you know that this story has gone through **major** changes therefore, everything you've read isn't exactly the same. I've erased a few plots I had originally planned and a few scenes from the past chapters. This has always been the plot I wanted to do but the problem was that I didn't want to include it in the beginning chapters because I wanted to focus on Byakuya, Rukia, and Ichigo instead rather than the whole grand scheme of things. So, to avoid over complicating things, I took them out.

 **Important:** I suggest you go back and skim through the past chapters because there has been things taken out. For example, Senbonzakura/Sode No Shirayuki, the Consorts, the Chinese wedding, Shiba conflict etc. The Consorts are still a part of the story but I will introduce them later on as well as the Miyabe case.

Thank you for reading and I'm sorry about the confusion.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach, but I do own this plot.

* * *

 **The Jade Anklet**

"You're late." Were the first words Rukia heard as she performed a small bow in front of the Emperor.

"I apologize, Your Majesty. I had to discuss something with my Ladies before coming here." Rukia said before sitting down.

"That is no excuse." He responded.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty - it won't ever happen again." She responded quietly. After last night, she realized she had been apologizing more often to him than she was used to and she didn't like it—but it couldn't be helped. Ever since she accidentally slipped out his birth name in the heat of frustration, she felt like she had committed a terrible offense even though he didn't say anything about it.

"There will be no need for that." He replied and she nodded her head as she looked down.

After training, she had wandered around a bit in the Jade Hall—reminiscing on the day she had told her people that she was to be wed. It was vacant (as expected) allowing her to wander around the spacious area and think about what she was going to do with the Emperor.

Unexpectedly, her Lady had happened to be wandering through and they met—resulting in why she was late.

"Are you not going to pick your berries?" He asked nonchalantly as he shuffled a few papers and put them to the side.

She looked up to see the berries dangling from the tree but found no interest to climb while he was here.

"...I don't feel like climbing today." She responded before reaching her hand into her basket to pull out her drawing book.

"And your tea?" He questioned.

"Rui is sick today and she's the only one who knows what I do when I'm out here."

"I see."

Today she decided that it would be safe to remain silent.

And although it was admittingly difficult, she figured out a way to keep her eyes only locked with her page. She didn't look up neither did she peer in any other direction—if he ended up not talking, it was his own fault, not hers. Even if she wanted to discuss this, she swore this time that she'd hold her ground.

No talking, until him, she had said to herself before arriving at the picnic bench in the first place.

* * *

Despite his discomfort he did not voice a thing although, the Empress was being silent and strangely, it got to him more than it was suppose to.

He certainly did not expect for her to dispose of her odd berries neither did he expect her to appear without her plum blossom tea. She was certainly acting very strange—constantly apologizing and bowing her head as if she had done it all before when they had met.

He narrowed his eyes at the top of her head and observed her silent behavior. He concluded that it was his fault for her sudden change and although discomforting, it did also mean she had given up on her illusory 'emotional connection' she persisted for in him.

It did not go unnoticed to him how much she tried to have her eyes focused on that one coloured space in her book rather than occasionally looking up to meet his eyes. Though he could tell, she was struggling more than she showed.

He was unaware of what game she was trying to play. But her silence was more than childish instead of approaching the topic maturely. With her petite size, somehow he still wavered on the thought that she was actually a full grown woman—but then again, her voice more over less indicated her maturity.

Standing up, he picked up the basket and watched her in the process to see if she would raise her head. It might have been slight, but it did not go unnoticed to him that her eyes had slightly met the area where the basket was once placed—indicating her childish demeanor would soon falter once he received her odd berries.

He felt like commoner—picking his own fruit on a tree for someone of the higher class; which he was but somehow ended up having to pick fruit for _someone else_ of the higher class. She had once told him that the best cherries resided on the top, but Byakuya in no form or way was willing to get caught climbing a tree of all things for berries.

Pushing a few leaves away, he searched for the better ones that seemed ripe and edible—walking through the wide trunked tree and leaves. After minutes of searching, Byakuya decided that he would return with the empty basket—there was no point in trying so hard for _her_.

Finding his way through the leaves, he was about to exit the area until his eyes spotted a bundle near the trunk of the tree. Walking towards the bark, he extended his hand to pick the wild berries until his hand flew back in the face of instincts as his hollow eyes met a bright pair of yellow cat-like eyes.

* * *

It had been ten minutes and the Emperor was still not back.

Although she didn't want to admit her concern, it was only natural to worry since berries—especially with his height—would not be that hard to pick by hand. But then again, he could've just left her; _but then why did he take the basket?_

Looking up, she searched the area to see if she would spot him through the petals or the leaves but strangely, she found no one—she scrunched her brows.

 _He'll be back_ , Rukia thought in her head but somehow she still couldn't convince herself that it was true. It would be no surprise to her if he actually left but at the very least he should've told her. She closed her book and slid it away from her—planning to investigate without interacting with him.

But wait...why was she doing this? It didn't matter whether he left her or not, she knew he wouldn't discuss what she wanted him to discuss and forcing him would only result in getting a bad name. She had already crossed the line. People who even dared refer to a _diamyo_ or anyone of higher status by their first name had their tongue cut off in an instant. He had spared her—not because she was the Empress or his wife or anything—but he had. And Rukia didn't think she'd test him anymore when it came to owning up to the rules.

But then again...what if he did leave? Then she'd spend the entire day sitting out here waiting like a fool when she could leave. Arguing with her conscience was proving to be most difficult, but somehow in the midst of arguing, she concluded what she'd do anyways.

She would go.

But before she could stand up and leave the table to search, the Emperor came walking back with an empty basket and a face completely devoid of emotion as always. She told herself to look down but she had already caught his glare and the closer he came towards the picnic table, the more she felt tempted to stare.

She bit back a smile, but she was more than tempted to commence her laughter as he came closer to her view. All kinds of small leaves and branches were buried in between his ruffled dark hair—a few small scratches were seen running up his forearm. Whatever happened must've been serious, but it was definitely a battle she would've wanted to see.

"Um...Your Majesty?" Her lip must've been bleeding with all the pressure her teeth was putting against her lips to not smile. "What..."

"Silence." He voiced almost immediately with a warning glare towards her smile. "I will take my leave." He announced before setting the empty basket back to where it belonged and collecting his files before walking around the table.

She turned, "Wait—Your Majesty, weren't we suppose to talk about..."

"We will discuss this another day." The Emperor replied with his back facing her. "I have a meeting to attend t—"

" _Meow._ " A voice cut him off and it surely didn't come from either her or the Emperor in the form of a cat.

She turned around to view a medium-sized black cat with magnificent golden eyes, purring in its position towards the Emperor. "Where did you come from?" Rukia asked while patting the purring cat's head.

In response, the cat closed his eyes in contentment causing her to tickle its ears as well for its own joy. From the top of her head, she could feel the Emperor's burning glare—causing her to look up as she groomed the cat's fur with her hand.

"How are you doing that?" He questioned nonchalantly.

"How am I doing what?" She questioned back as the cat meowed to display his pleasure.

"Petting," He said while looking at the cat. "that feline." He finished with distaste.

"You mean the cat?" Rukia questioned confusingly before quickly looking down at the cat she was fondling and returning her eyes back up to meet his. "It's easy—all you have to do is groom their fur and tickle their ears—they love that."

"Is that so?"

"Hmph." Rukia nodded in response as the cat crawled into her lap and positioned itself to sleep. "Would you like to try, Your Majesty?"

"No, thank you."

"Why not?"

"Why would I, or any person want to groom a cat?"

"Cats are not that bad. Sometimes they're lazy and sometimes they're not—they play and hide things and cuddle too if you want."

"You have been fooled."

"Huh?"

"Cats are anything but cooperative."

"Why do you say so?"

"They are evil."

"What? Cats aren't evil—they're just lazy." Rukia said. "Here—(she said while standing up)—trying holding him."

The Emperor stepped back.

"No, thank you."

"Try it, Your Majesty—cats are ver—"

"I refuse to touch that demon." He warned and although his voice did sound menacing, she continued to pursue him with the cat.

"I promise you it won't hurt you." She reassured and she was now close enough to hand over the cat with her arms. The cat meowed and opened its eyes once she lifted him into the air as the Emperor took another step back and she followed.

"Here—"

"Rukia, release that demon cat at once." He ordered and Rukia flinched at the sound of _her_ name. She stopped in her tracks and lowered the cat back into her arms—evidently shocked at the usage of her first name by the Emperor who remained apathetic to it all.

"Did you just..." She could hardly believe it to the point that saying it sounded even more surreal than it was hearing it—the Emperor had just called her by her first name. "You called me by my first name..."

He stared at her with a blank expression—silently wondering what the entire fuss was about. But Rukia, on the other hand didn't know whether she should feel accomplished or overjoyed.

 _At least, we're finally getting somewhere_

He turned around once again so that his back was facing her eyes once again. "Do not think that the usage of your first name means you can refer to me by mine."

"Yes, of course Your Majesty." She replied even though on the inside she knew she'd get there, eventually.

"I will take my leave." He said.

"Wait—" Rukia said as she released the cat on the ground and walked towards him.

"What is it?" The Emperor asked but his curiosity died when he felt a small hand turn him around.

She tiptoed so that she was able to reach his hair and one by one pick out the branches and leaves from his dark hair. Smoothing the ruffles out of his hair, she stepped back and nodded her head as approval while holding his strong gaze.

" _Meow_!" The cat,—located barely a millimeter away from the Emperor's foot—said causing the Emperor—and she swore to herself that she would probably never see it again, although minor and unnoticeable it was real— _flinch_.

The thought alone was ridiculous, but the sight, itself could not be denied. There was no certainty in what she saw, though she could've _sworn_ for nearly ½ a second the Emperor had flinched because of the cat.

 _Maybe there's more to him than I originally thought._

"Come here." She said to the cat before it leaped into her arms with joy.

"I will be leaving now." He announced.

" _Hai_." Rukia said in response and she could barely control her laughter as she watched him leave. Managing to giggle, she was quick to slap her hand against her mouth in fear that the Emperor might overhear—unfortunately for her, she had already been discovered.

" _Rukia_." He warned and she heard his order loud and clear but unfortunately for her, it only made her want to laugh even more. And once he was gone, she couldn't hold back anymore.

* * *

"Kurosaki- _kun_?"

"Yeah, Inoue?"

"Have you..."

He turned to look at her as she timidly looked down. "Yeah?"

"Have you seen Kuchiki- _san_ anywhere?"

Ichigo blinked in confusion. "Rukia? No, I haven't—why?"

"Well, the medical quarters wanted me to give her this ointment for her leg but I haven't seen her around ever since the wedding."

"Rukia was hurt?" Ichigo inquired immediately.

"No—well, _yes_ Kurosaki- _kun_ but it wasn't serious. According to Lady Unohana it was just a scratch but it was really hurting her."

"Oh..." Ichigo said nonchalantly before a poisonous thought came to mind. "Why don't you give it to her husband?" He asked as he bent down momentarily to get a drink of water as Orihime stood.

"I haven't seen His Majesty in a while either."

"He's been sending Renji as his substitute during Division meetings."

"But Kuchiki- _san_ has been to all of her meetings, so he probably isn't with her either."

"How do you know?"

"Lady Ise, of course."

"Oh right, I forgot. I haven't seen much of her Ladies around either."

So Rukia wasn't with him—some kind of husband he was leaving her alone and tending to his own needs while barely paying attention to the Division's. But now that he thought about it, maybe it _was_ a good thing because that meant nothing would change—in the Division and in Rukia.

It's not like he ever thought before that the Emperor was even capable of doing so—the thought had long passed him after that night in the Jade Hall. And now that he was assured that the Emperor once had a wife, he was sure of the fact that Rukia and him could work this out—he knew she wanted it too, but the woman he knew was stubborn; too stubborn for her own good and the only way to make her realize it was to distance himself.

 _Easier said than done._

"They've probably been busy tending to Kuchiki- _san_ 's and His Majesty's needs."

"Needs?" Ichigo scoffed. "What needs?"

"Well...they _are_ married Kurosaki- _kun_. Married couples have a lot of needs—especially when they are out together. Oh! Like yesterday! Kuchiki- _san_ and His Majesty were out in the rain and when they came back into the palace, they were all wet!"

"Wait—what happened? Why were they out in the rain?"

"I don't know. But it definitely sounds romantic doesn't it, Kurosaki- _kun_?! I mean Kuchiki- _sa_ n and His Majesty in the rain and all!"

He was already starting to get tired of this same topic over and over again.

"Inoue, Rukia isn't like that.

"Isn't like what?" Orihime questioned in oblivion.

"Nothing, never mind."

"Anyways, I promised Lady Unohana I would go out to the Rukongai to pick some medicinal herbs, if you see Kuchiki- _san_ can you please give this to her?" Orihime asked while pulling out the ointment wrapped in a small lotus leave for him to take.

He looked down and he could feel his rationality slowly slipping away with the thought of distancing himself away from Rukia long gone from his thoughts.

"Yeah sure, Inoue." Ichigo said before taking the ointment out of her hand—examining it carefully before looking up.

" _Arigatou_ , Kurosaki- _kun_." She said while bowing. "I'll be off now."

"Bye." Ichigo said while taking the ointment and shoving it into his pocket for later—vowing to see her before the day was over.

* * *

The Emperor remained in his study for the rest of the day. His encounter with Rukia had been short and bearable, at least he did not have to see her or anyone for that matter until they met the thirteen Divisions later on.

Although his time would be much better spent on the palace's affairs, he could not bring himself to concentrate on them solely. He was distracted by something else.

His eyes narrowed at the anklet resting on his desk, something given to him by his father to give to another—a person he did not know. From his knowledge, he understood that his father was entrusted with the anklet that originally came in a pair before he gave one of them away to someone he did not name.

For the most part, Byakuya did not understand the value of the anklet nor the reason why his father was given it. But a part of his duty was to return the anklet to its pair and keep it for the future generations.

Truthfully, he did not know where to begin. All he had was his father's will to rely on that did not disclose any possibilities of who the person he gave it to might be except for the fact that the person had it worn on their right ankle—indicating that it would've most likely been a woman, but who?

At one point in time, he had been convinced that the woman was indeed Hisana. She was from the Rukongai and based on the evidence given in his father's will, he believed that it would be unlikely to be a noblewoman who he would have given such an object.

But of course, he had been wrong.

The majority of the population were the citizens of the Rukongai—finding the woman who owned the anklet would take years of work and investigation. He had hoped that his father would have left something for him to identify this woman but it seemed that he was out of luck.

On the night Consort Jiahao had visited him, he had wanted to ask her to retrieve the files regarding the noblewomen that lived within the palace but he had thought twice about asking her. That woman was nothing more but a manipulative snake. The only reason he kept her near him was for information but the Consort seemed to believe that he was the one who needed her.

He would not go to Consort Jiahao. He preferred to investigate it himself rather than trust her. And from what he knew, the palace did not have a harem of women for the Emperor so she was often partaking in something else. While it was a disadvantage, it was also an advantage for him to use her until he saw fit. But he could not use her for this.

He held the anklet with two of his fingers, wondering why his father would've given such an expensive thing away. If only he knew why.

* * *

It was cold outside.

But to blame the weather was wrong, because it wasn't the weather's fault but rather _her_ fault for coming out in the cold with such as loose garment during the night. She was suppose to be back in her chambers eating dinner with His Majesty but rather she was out for a walk, _alone_ , because His Majesty decided that he would rather stand her up than inform her either directly or indirectly.

It wouldn't have killed him to send a message with a maid at least. Instead, he had left her to sit there until the food got cold and she got exhausted. Eventually, she had concluded that she needed a walk. So here she was.

It was peaceful at first. But after awhile, she got tired again and decided to sit down. Perhaps she was being foolish for wandering outside but then again, she needed a second to breathe and anyhow he showed up, she wouldn't feel as comfortable as she felt right now being alone as she wished.

She hadn't seen him for the rest of the day ever since the...cat incident. It seemed that he was working privately in his study. Still, it wasn't that hard to send a message that he would not be present for dinner instead of leaving her. _Kami_ , sometimes he could be so irritating.

She had spent the day in the Jade Hall and went out with her Ladies as well. But even during those times, she had not eaten once—she had been too engrossed in her work.

She was hungry, there was no doubt about it. Although it was cold, she concluded that she might as well had eaten it so she wouldn't be as hungry now. But she was so far now, isolated, alone, or at least that's what she thought until her eyes caught sight of someone looking down at her as she sat.

"Ichigo." She acknowledged as her eyes slightly grew in surprise.

"Rukia." Ichigo said while peering down at her crouched position. "What are you doing here?"

"What are _you_ doing here?" She sneered in surprise.

"It's a public greenhouse, Rukia—anyone can come here."

"Not when I'm around." She muttered and looked down.

"Since when?"

"Since now. Leave, Ichigo."

"No." He said sternly. "It's a public greenhouse."

"You seem to be forgetting that I'm the Empress, _Lord Kurosaki_."

"Oh, so now it's 'Lord Kurosaki'. Cut the crap, Rukia—I know you're not happy." She wasn't, he knew it all too well. If she had been it would've shown itself but it didn't. She was alone.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You damn well know what I'm talking about."

"I don't. Now, leave."

"I won't leave."

"Fine, then I'll leave." She said before standing up from her crouched position and turning around. Sometimes Ichigo could be irritating as well.

"Wait—"

"What?" She stopped.

"I didn't come here to talk to you – I didn't even know you'd be here." From her perspective, it seemed as if he was telling the truth. But still...

"I'm still leaving."

"I seriously didn't know you'd be here. I was out with Renji, Chad, Ishida, and Inoue again—how was I suppose to know that you'd be here?"

"You couldn't have."

"Exactly."

"But I'm still leaving."

"Why are you out here?" Ichigo said to change the subject before she walked away.

"I needed some fresh air—you?" She replied honestly.

"I was bored." Ichigo responded. "And hungry."

"Then why did you come here?"

"Kenpachi was at my favorite place."

"Oh, I see. Well maybe you can go check back and see if he's gone."

"I doubt it—Yachiru's with him so I doubt he's coming out until her stomach's full."

"She _does_ eat a lot."

"She does." And after that, they remained in awkward silence until Rukia spoke.

"...I should go.

"Wait—"

"Ichigo..."

"Let me ask you one thing."

"What?"

"Are you hungry?"

"Huh?" She asked with widened eyes to express her surprise.

"I can hear your stomach from here, Rukia—it's growling." She looked down and put her hand over her stomach before looking up.

"Sort of."

"Then let's go then."

"Wait—Where?"

"Where else? To get something to eat."

* * *

The Emperor did not feel like leaving the Kuchiki Hall just yet as nightfall took over the land. To say it was the paperwork would be an indecisive excuse, because the problem, indeed lied between him and his supposed 'wife'.

If he could reduce the amount of times he visited the Imperial Gardens, perhaps he could avoid her completely—if only, it wasn't his conscience telling him to do otherwise in her favor. The Emperor did not make mistakes—however, he could at least admit to himself that the reason she was so uneasy about their relationship was because of what occurred on their nuptial night.

His efforts in trying to ease that uneasiness seemed to only make things worse because now she was attached. Attached to some false hope about an emotional relationship that would never occur between the two as long as they lived. Byakuya was no fool—he did not need to develop anything remarkably close to the term of friendship to produce an heir.

Intimacy did not require love. It was evident in current day relationships seen in the Red Light Districts in the Rukongai that love did not have to incite an intimate relationship. And as far as the Emperor was concerned, he only had one intention of doing it once and that was with the Empress to produce an heir.

He knew Rukia would eventually have to understand that there would never be anything decent between them except an heir. He did not wish to form anything with her that was romantic and yet she still persisted to believe that somehow a liaison could be formed between them.

It was ridiculous and Byakuya couldn't make himself be bothered by it. Nonetheless, he still managed to visit her at least once a day.

He was not doing it for her. He would be damned the day he allowed himself to have her persist him into being acquaintances. He was doing it for the sake of his reputation. He did not want any doubts to be placed on him as a ruler.

If his relationship with Rukia casted doubts on his abilities, his honor would perish on his account. He had to preserve it and if it meant enduring a few hours of the day with Rukia, he would have to do it by force if not choice.

Something he knew he should be doing now.

He did not want to have dinner with her. The mere thought of it made him uneasy. Although he had faced her once before during their first dinner, he did not think he could last that long.

They would have to eat in her chambers again and he did not want to do that again, either. To say he wasn't used to her face would be incorrect, he had gotten used to her face being so eminently similar to his wife's in his short time as Emperor. However, even if seeing her face did bring him pain, it was her persistence that lied the problem.

He wasn't remote to becoming close to her—knowing what she liked, what she didn't, what she believed. The more he talked to her, the more he discovered new things about her—things he did not want to know but knew.

From what he knew, she liked _onigiri_ , cherries, climbing, drawing, and believed in _Kami_. And if it was ever possible to erase those memories, he would've. But he couldn't—he already knew.

He stood up and walked over to the large entrance of two metal doors and allowed himself into the night. He needed a walk— _he needed to forget_ —those thoughts of Rukia and their marriage.

The furthest distance he could think of that would not raise suspicion would be her chambers. He only hoped that she was not awake so he could make a quick stop and then leave.

That is of course, if she was asleep.

* * *

"Ichigo..." She said in an exhausted tone.

"C'mon, I'm only asking you to have dinner." Ichigo persisted. "As _friends_ , Rukia—you can calm down."

No, she couldn't.

"I really should - "

"Why are you being like this?" He questioned to cut her off. "I thought we were friends."

"No—Yes—I don't know. I already told you we can't be..." Being friends was too dangerous for her. She didn't want to risk it at all regardless of the friendship they had. She was protecting him in a sense if she stayed away. Why should his honor be diminished as well?

"Friends or lovers?"

"Ichigo!" She scolded before looking around to see if any guards happened to be roaming around. "Both. We can't do this."

"We can." He insisted. "Are you just going to forget what we had as friends?"

"No, of course not but—"

"You're making things difficult for no reason, Rukia. We're just going to eat 'cause we're hungry— _as friends_."

"I have dinner ready in my chambers."

"For who? You and Byakuya?"

"Ichigo, stop calling His Majesty by his first name—It's disrespectful." Rukia scolded but Ichigo knew she was trying to avoid the subject.

"He's not there, is he?"

"What?"

"He didn't show up and now you're out here—alone—trying to starve yourself so you can eat together. Rukia, what the hell—"

"It's not like that, you fool!" He got it all wrong. She wasn't trying to starve herself out of all things. She was waiting for him because she _expected_ him to show up. But now that he didn't, she went for a walk but she was going back to eat.

"Then why the fuck are you out here alone?"

"Whatever I do, doesn't concern you!"

"And it doesn't concern him, either! I'm tryna protect you!"

"I don't need you to protect me!"

"Let's go, Rukia."

"No. I'm going back to my chambers." She said before she attempted to walk past him but he reached out and caught her arm.

"I don't want to go with you..."

"That's a lie." Ichigo pursued. "You do."

"I don't." She reassured. "And nothing you say or do is going to stop me from going back."

"Not even if I beg you?"

"I thought Kurosaki Ichigo didn't beg?"

"Yeah, yeah well desperate times calls for desperate measures." He scoffed.

"I'm tired."

"You're hungry."

"Would you stop arguing with me?"

"I'm not arguing I'm telling the truth!"

" _Baka_ , I told you I don't want to go anywhere with you!"

"Then let me come with you!"

"No—he'll see you."

"You're still worried about Byakuya seeing us—Rukia, are you kidding me?"

"His Majesty." She corrected.

"Whatever, Rukia. Just here me out for a sec, _please_." He stressed the word because he wanted her to come. He didn't intend on doing anything with her, he just wanted to talk. Her silence told him she was ready to hear him speak so by all means, he did. "We'd be in the Rukongai, Rukia—Byakuya wouldn't even know we'd be there. We'd eat and then you'd go home."

"I wish it was that simple but if anyone recognizes us, I'll be—"

"No one ever recognized you before, did they? You're worried for no reason. I know you want to go."

"I don't." She whispered quietly as a slight breeze brushed a few strands of her hair.

"Are you sure about that?"

"I'm sure." She said. "Goodnight, Ichigo."

"Goodnight."

* * *

He did not hear a single word through the _shōji_ doors that indicated whether she had fallen asleep or not. Still, he preferred to be precautious before entering her room to avoid any intrusion but he knew better: she would not unveil herself in front of the door.

He parted the doors slightly, scanning the area to find the room quiet and vacant. He stepped in to observe the room further but found nothing except the cold dinner he had been expected to eat and the _shōji_ to the garden left open.

She was not there.

There was no indication of where she could've gone except the _shōji_ allowing the air to intrude the room. Either way, he did not rest with the fact that she had left the room without informing him of her whereabouts in a form of a note or message.

To be sure, he pushed away the thin curtains that veiled her bed in search for a note to explain her leave but found nothing until he spotted a white paper folded near one of her pillows—he had found it.

He wanted to question why she chose to place it in such a difficult location but he rather listen to her reason rather than question her stupor. He reached out to unfold the crumpled note—spotting words such as 'remember' and 'go' as he unfolded the paper, but unfortunately, before he had the opportunity to read it, a voice interfered before he could read the note.

"Your Majesty..." Rukia acknowledged in almost a whisper as she closed the parted doors. Her skin was flushed with a faint touch of red that he presumed was an effect of wandering in the cold however, it was not much of surprise considering the garment she chose to wander with in the night.

"Where were you?" He questioned, putting the note aside.

"I was...out for a walk, Your Majesty."

"Is that so?" He replied, and she nodded her head in response. "In _that_?" He asked as he narrowed down at the thin garment she chose to wear outside.

"Hai, I didn't think it was that cold." She admitted. "But it is fine, I like it..."

"You did not need to go outside." He responded.

"Were you waiting for me?" She asked even though she _highly_ doubted that the Emperor out of all people would be that concerned.

"No." He responded sternly. "I just arrived."

"I see. Will you be staying?" Rukia asked as she approached him.

"I do not believe it is necessary if you have eaten."

"I have not." She responded. "I was waiting..." She admitted quietly. "...for you."

He glanced at her immediately as she reached out to retrieve the note he had set aside. It did not go unnoticed how quickly she had folded it and tucked it in her robe as if it was any use to her now that she was here. But then again...it could not have been for him.

"You should not expect me for dinner." Byakuya said. "I do not intend on coming here to eat."

"Oh...I see. Is this what you wanted to talk to me about earlier?" Rukia asked as she looked up to him now that the note was put away.

"No."

"Then what did you want to talk about?" Rukia asked—eyes filled with curiosity.

He stared at her, but he did not respond to her question instead, he changed the subject. "You should eat."

"I am not hungry anymore." She lied. "And besides, the food is already cold."

"That did not stop you from wandering outside." He noted.

"I like it—the cold—it's much more calming." She explained with a subtle grin as her eyes narrowed down. Her mind was still contemplating her interaction with Ichigo to notice the hand that had slightly touched her cheek in observance.

"You are cold." He stated with narrowed eyes.

"I am fi—" He did not let her finish her sentence. Before she knew it, a blanket was placed around her body—held in place by his large hands on her shoulders.

"You will get ill." He scolded before removing his hands and leaving her to stand near the bed.

"I will not." She protested although she held onto the blanket.

"You are in no position to argue with me." Byakuya responded before gathering the meal she was suppose to eat.

"I said I'm not hungry." Rukia said while taking a step back as he approached her.

"I do not care. _Eat_."

"I am not hungry." She protested. "I don't feel like eating."

"You should not sleep with an empty stomach. " He responded before Rukia sighed.

She looked down at the tray he held in front of her and looked up. "I'm really not hungry..."

If only her stomach could uphold that lie. Moments after speaking, her stomach made growling noises loud enough for the other side of the palace to hear causing her to close her eyes in defeat. She grabbed the silver tray he held out to her and sat on the bed.

"Will you not have some?" She asked after taking her first bite.

"No." He responded.

"You've been working all day...are you sure?"

"I do not need your concern. Just eat." He said so Rukia remained silent.

He sat down near what was suppose to be his desk and began to work on some paperwork. Rukia looked away. She did not understand him at all. One second he wanted to discuss something then he disappeared, he stood her up for dinner, and now he was back again—scolding her for going out in the cold.

To say she did not understand him at all was an understatement, she really did not get any of his actions but at least she could say she was fortunate. Although it meant nothing at all, she did find out something about him that made her feel better about his strange disappearances; he hated cats, _feared_ them even, but not in a phobic way.

She had to bite down on her lip just to suppress the laugh that threatened to escape at the thought of it again. The fact that the cat _won_ , made it all the more hilarious.

She smiled. It didn't matter if he noticed, it didn't seem like he would at all actually—he was too engrossed by his work.

She watched him for awhile as she finished the tray finding interest in what he was working on. He had been silent—not that it was much of a surprise – but too silent. Truth be told, she had expected some type of scolding from his part after she had giggled a few times on her own. From her point of view, it didn't seem like he was working on files from the palace but rather _something else_. Something rather interesting.

She tried to peek but given the distance, it was impossible to see what he was writing. He looked so concentrated. But it must've been interesting, given the fact that he hadn't notice her eyes drilling holes through his back for the past couple of minutes she took to complete her tray.

He moved slightly, giving her the impression that he would leave, but he didn't. In fact, all he did was help her see what exactly he was working on. Something was glinting...Something bright. For some reason, she felt drawn to it, the glinting light, like a moth to a flame...it was strange.

Standing up, she walked to him in slow steps; eyes locked with that one space. "Your Majesty..."

"Do not come any closer." He warned causing her to jump in her spot.

"Why?" She frowned, eyes focused on the glint.

"I am doing something." He simply replied.

She tried to peek. "I understand but I wanted to know—"

" _What?_ " He finished for her. "It is of no concern to you."

"But—"

From the corner of his eye, he spotted her tray. "You are not done eating yet."

"I am full."

"You are not. Return and eat, I am not going until the 8th Division finish circulating the area." He said but Rukia was not paying attention at all. She was more concerned over the trinket she could see in his hand—shimmering red, no—blue, no— _green_. A jade green.

It did not take long until the Emperor noticed that she was not paying attention to his words but rather, his desk or more importantly, _the anklet_.

"What is..."

"I will take my leave." He immediately said before standing up and retrieving his files.

"No wait, Your Majesty! I apologize for meddling, please stay." Rukia said with a bow.

"It is not necessary. You are full and I presume the 8th Division have finished circulating the area."

"They're not and I'm not full yet." She tried to reason.

"You said you were."

"Eat with me." Rukia suggested. "There's still some food left and I don't want to put it to waste."

"Give it to the maids, they will throw it away." He re-suggested.

"That would be a waste of food. Imagine how many Rukongai children would die for this. We should not waste it if we can't give it to them."

"You seem to care a great deal for the children of the Rukongai." He commented taking note of the files he had read regarding her reign.

"I do..."

"Why?" He inquired. His question caught her off-guard.

"What do you mean by 'why'? Why shouldn't I care? I'm the Empress."

"Their lives do not matter to you. What have they ever done for you to deserve your attention? You were never one of them."

"That's a horrible thing to say. Of course their lives matter, any life should matter. Just because they are not as fortunate as you that does not mean we should cast their lives into doubt. They have great potential and deserve to have an opportunity to pursue it. And besides, it shouldn't matter what they have done for me, they don't have to do anything."

"Is that so?"

"Of course! I know how it feels to be left with nothing."

"Death and poverty are two different things."

"I'm not talking about my late husband. I'm talking about myself."

"What have you lost that doesn't involve death?" He inquired.

 _My childhood._

She did not answer. Mainly because she didn't think he could ever understand by what she meant. It seemed like the Auris Elders hadn't told him the truth about her—the truth about her family lineage, even if there was nothing really there.

She bit her bottom lip as she contemplated whether she should tell him or not, but it seemed that he had already lost interest once he had turned around.

"If you are no longer hungry save the food until tomorrow. I will take my leave."

"Oh..." She looked at the tray. "I will." She had expected him to say something else.

Either way, it seemed that he was done talking about the subject and so was she.

"Goodnight, Your Majesty." She made sure to say before he left.

"Goodnight."

* * *

The Jade Hall was utterly grey.

The rain from outside seemed to only darken the jade-coloured hall excessively and manage to dullen Rukia's interest to train.

She held her sword in her hand but she no longer felt motivated to practice as the skies grumbled outside. She had hoped to return to her tree for the rest of the day but it seemed that her plans would have to change given the weather.

She took a few steps around the room, twirling with her sword that slowly became a dance but she knew better than to dance without reason near the palace if she was not a concubine or geisha. If she could, she wouldn't have minded becoming one for one day if it meant she could dance without having to fear the judgmental eyes of others.

The white makeup, the heavy _kimono_ s, and the red lips all sounded so spontaneous and different, but she could never sell her body out like that for money or men. Regardless, she still thought about it from time to time just to feel turbulent even if it was only for a second. If it meant she could dance, she wouldn't mind it at all.

Placing the sword back into her sheath, she gave up on trying to practice the darker the hall got and stepped out of it while guards waiting on the outside, bowed.

"Your Majesty." They all acknowledged in unison as she walked down the corridor to the outside rain. A guard accompanied her with an umbrella to shield her but she immediately dismissed him and took the umbrella herself.

From far, she could spot some men entering the Court Pune Hall which meant there was probably a meeting in session. Which also meant his study was empty.

Rukia tried her best to convince herself not to meddle in his private affairs but she could not help but feel _drawn_ to it ever since seeing that jade trinket he had held in his left hand. It held no meaning to her—she was not even sure she knew exactly what it was. From her distance, it had seemed as a trinket but it could've been something else.

Nonetheless, she still felt drawn to it—she just wanted to know what it was.

She knew it wasn't best to start off their acquaintance by invading his personal space however, she was the Empress and she had not seen his study ever since it was built on the first day. She was visiting—not inquiring.

Her mind slowly traced back to last night when he had stopped her from coming any closer. She was well aware that he was a secluded person by now but if it was palace work, why hide? She headed towards the Kuchiki Hall—as he had chosen to call it—near the west end, unsure if she was willing to do what she wanted to do once she got there.

It was just a piece of jewelry—something she would probably never see again or wear. But for some reason, Rukia felt enticed to the object—it was strange. There was an impulse inside of her to see it and maybe even to touch it.

It wasn't long until she reached the doors of his study. There were no guards shielding it either which meant that he was not inside for sure as she had predicted. Staring at the doors, she bit her bottom lip once again as she contemplated whether it was a good idea or not.

She was invading his personal space—it was wrong and she knew it. But that didn't stop her from stepping into the study and closing the doors almost immediately before anyone saw. At this point she no longer knew what she was doing. Her mind said one thing and her body did another; she just wanted to see the damn trinket and leave before anyone saw her—specifically him.

However, satisfying her odd innate desire seemed to be rather difficult because the moment she turned away from the doors, she was not faced with a desk or a board of books but rather a bed.

 _So this is where he slept..._ She mentally commented as she scanned the large room. There was a tapestry of velvet midnight blue hanging high and around the huge space. It made her realize that this was no study, this was his room—the one he slept in—to run away from her every day.

The change of location made her realize that her presence was even more wrong than it was before. But she could not take the entire blame, she had entered here under the impression that this was his study, not his bedroom. If she had known, she wouldn't have come.

Rukia sighed in defeat, it seemed that her impulse would have to wait until the next time she had the opportunity to see it. But she knew that would be awhile after yesterday night. He had been so quick to tell her to stay where she was almost as if it was some secret he was suppose to hide.

She was about to turn around until a small glint caught the corner of her eyes. She snapped her head back towards the bed to see the one thing she was looking for—it was the trinket, the jade one, the one she had seen him hold in her room.

Before she could even think about all the reasons why it was wrong, she walked towards the jade resting on the miniature desk beside his bed and stared. It was a magnificent sight; a scintillating jade matched with silver to form what she had mistaken for a trinket; which it was not.

It was an anklet—a beautiful one as well.

It was hung on a bamboo stick, isolated from anything else but that in a shape of four-leafed clovers that were said to bring good luck. Rukia wanted to touch it so badly but she knew it was wrong, she couldn't. If only there was a matching kind of it in this world, she would've taken it in a heart beat just to stare at its beauty. But there was not, at least...she didn't think there was.

She couldn't help but wonder who it belonged to or why the Emperor out of all people had it. Could it belong to his lover? It would admittingly be a surprise however, it would make sense as to why he did not wish to form an emotional relationship with her. She could understand.

The necklace she wore was a gift from Ichigo—her lover—in a sense. So for him to receive a gift from his own was not much of a surprise except the fact that it would be a surprise if he had one. But now she wondered, who? And most importantly, why did he carelessly leave it in his room on a display?

The Emperor was not a careless person. He didn't appear to be, excluding the day of his coronation. If he had so easily left a gift from his lover lying around she did not know what that meant for their country.

But still, she was glad she found it, whatever drew her to it was finally being satisfied.

The jade was so marvelous that it's glint was as strong as the sunlight. The way it mirrored itself in her eyes made her feel even more enticed by the object...almost too enticed because before she knew it, she was reaching out to touch it.

This was wrong.

This was so, so wrong.

It was a gift from his lover and she out of all people had no right to touch something so personal and yet...it was so hard to refrain her hand from reaching out towards it.

When her finger touched the gem, she watched the glint spark again until her body was jolted awake by the sound of a voice. Cold. Threatening. Deadly.

She froze.

"What. Are. You. Doing?"

* * *

 **End Note**

I wonder why she's so obsessed with that anklet.

So we're finally here. I hope you enjoyed it! I apologize again for the amount of changes I made in the past chapters but I realized it would take me awhile to close the endings off of those minor plot lines so I erased them. That being said, I erased the Chinese wedding part as well because it was difficult for me to maintain both cultures throughout the story. So now it will be 100% easier for me to maintain one cultural stream and focus on the plot line as planned. Hopefully it will make it easier for me to update now without having to worry.

 **Images For This Chapter**

\- The Jade Anklet

Please, please, please **review**! They are honestly very encouraging to read! Please and thank you!

\- _NairaRains/kagomesangos_


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